Hermit - by Susan Blood (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Solitude promised peace. Chaos had other plans.Holly's carefully assembled life is unraveling, and she needs a reset. She creates a DIY home retreat, complete with scavenged cushions and a vow of inner peace. For one shining instant, it works. Then chaos returns. In a desperate bid for solitude, Holly accepts a position as a garden hermit on a historic estate. Alone in a weather-beaten shed, she leans into silence, simplicity, and the hope that isolation will bring clarity. But winter is harsh, the estate holds secrets, and the person who took everything from her once is back, this time threatening everything she's become. Sharply funny, unexpectedly thoughtful, and quietly suspenseful, Hermit is a novel about reinvention, resilience, and finding wisdom in the mayhem of life.

Review Quotes

Hermit is a must-read for anyone who has ever thought, I could really use a monastic retreat-but how will I ever find the time? Reading Susan Blood is like sitting down to lunch with a dear friend-one who is sharply attuned to her own foibles and missteps, and who offers, with grace and humor, the hard-won insights of an unexpected journey. Thoughtful, observant, and wise, this book is a true delight.

About the Author

Susan Blood is the recipient of an Arts Foundation of Cape Cod Written Word Fellowship and Provincetown Community Compact dune shack residency, where this novel was first drafted. Her work has been published in The Christian Science Monitor, The Magazine of Yoga, Bachtrack, The Petrigru Review, and regional newspapers. A collection of Susan's essays, How Not to Do Things, was published by Surface Popper Publications in 2017. Her radio show - Opera Betty: opera for people who hate opera - has aired since 2010 on community radio WOMR. She has read and presented at fundraising events for organizations including the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, WOMR Community Radio, and Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, and she continues to support writers and visual artists as the Institutional Giving Manager at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown.