The Salt and Light Express

De: Lee Ann Walling

Narrado por: Maria Marquis

When Chris Lawler is left adrift by the sudden loss of her partner, she heads west on a cross-country road trip—but no GPS can navigate her loneliness or the guilt over her part in Sally’s accident.

Struggling to find belonging among Utah’s red rocks and in the Texas Hill Country, she meets two remarkably different people who begin to kindle her healing. She is smitten by one of them, but past rejection renders her insecure and awkward. Adding to her isolation, her judgmental kin in Texas rebuff her attempts to reconcile.

A violent reckoning at the small town library where her family lives finally forces Chris to confront the roadblocks that prevent her from loving and being loved. At its heart, The Salt and Light Express explores and celebrates the depths of friendship between two older women, both rebounding from personal tragedies and wondering if their joy is in the rearview mirror.

©2025 Shifting Sands Media (P)2025 Shifting Sands Media

Stitched With Color

The Salt and Light Express is a beautifully written meditation on love and grief. Reading it reminded me of W.S. Merwin’s poem Separation:

“Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.”

Carol, the main character, is mourning the loss of her partner, and that grief runs through the book like Merwin’s thread—quietly but unforgettably. It’s heartbreaking to witness her struggle to find her footing in a world forever changed. Yet again and again, she rises. Her small victories feel luminous and deeply earned.

The novel confronts difficult subjects with grace, compassion, and honesty. It’s a story that lingers—one that would make a powerful and thought-provoking choice for any book club.