Untethered - by Shelley Thrasher (Paperback)

About the Book

Helen Rogers, in her eighties, meets much-younger Grace on a lengthy cruise to Bali, and their intense relationship yields surprising insights and unexpected growth.

Book Synopsis

A tribute to the value of self-awareness and self-kindness, Untethered is the heartwarming story of a vacation gone wrong that leads to an unexpected journey of the heart.

Helen Rogers is ready for a relaxing cruise in Bali with her friends and married couple Martha Jo and Amy. After flying from Dallas to Australia, they board a small ship bound for Bali, only to quickly realize they have stumbled into a strenuous expedition more suited to CrossFit enthusiasts than vacationers like themselves in their seventies and eighties. Amid shipboard chaos and excursions to seldom-visited Indonesian islands, Helen becomes mesmerized by the younger, enigmatic Grace--unhappily married and searching for a resolution.

Things go from bad to worse when Helen and Amy become ill and must stay in isolation. Totally alone for the first time, memories of her time with Grace begin to haunt Helen. Was Grace's last declaration that she was returning to her husband true? Why does Helen always fall for unavailable women? Could it have something to do with her lifelong aversion to meeting strangers and socializing in general?

After a nightmarish flight home and several months of recovery and reflection, Helen uncovers an earth-shattering realization that will change her life, and the possibilities of love, forever.