Stillwater will make you laugh, cry, and perhaps lead you to look at rocks, maps, volcanoes, and yourself in a different way. The story includes geology field experiences and adventures, field mapping, lots of hard science, romance, sex, and spirituality. Annie is a woman of passion for her career as a geologist and professor, her students, her family, and her faith. She finds her worldview, spirituality, and morality challenged as she struggles with an extramarital relationship with her one true love, Sean. Together they share a love of volcanoes and each other but must deal with the social and religious boundaries established for them in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Annie's experiences with systemic sexism in geology and academia will be recognized and appreciated by women and men of all ages, as her character blazes a trail for other women to follow.
The reader will be intrigued by the main character's romance, but also by the camaraderie of the characters and by the worlds they inhabit: their families, their workplaces, their hang-outs, and the sub-worlds of academia and field geology. You will be drawn into the love story that is woven into the tapestry of science, nature, and spirituality.
“As you glance into the Stillwater, you see a reflection of Annie and Sean that is embedded in your mind through the entire book…. Stillwater runs deep and cold through the valley and along the cliffs and becomes an everlasting waterfall.” Jerry H. Moore
