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Newly released novel by author Charlene Wexler explores Chicago’s South Shore in the 50s and 60s
“Farewell to South Shore” by award winningauthor Charlene Wexler takes readers on a nostalgic trip through Chicago’s South Shore and beyond — A Perfect Summer Beach Read
This summer, readers can transport themselves to mid-century Chicago, where Sherrie Paul is growing up among her Jewish family members who all live in the same neighborhood — and often in the same building — in award-winning author Charlene Wexler’s latest book, Farewell to South Shore. Sherrie will become the first in her family to attend college and law school, breaking out into a new world vastly different from the traditional South Shore of her youth.
“Memorable, heartfelt, and engaging author Charlene Wexler’s Farewell to South Shore is a breathtaking women’s fiction novel,” said Goodreads reviewer Anthony Avina.
“The twists and turns the character’s journey takes her on, the honesty and depth for which the themes of this novel were explored, and the inspiring sense of hope that readers are left with will keep readers invested in this incredible author’s work.”
In Farewell to South Shore, Wexler introduces readers to 15-year-old Sherrie, who is growing up in a close-knit Jewish family in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The building in which Sherrie lives is occupied by family with Old World values, in Chicago’s South Shore community. Her relatives are loud, argumentative and quirky, but they are also loving and solve problems with that love — and great food.
As the 1960s progress, Sherrie and her family increasingly encounter modern-day problems and situations, including the changing neighborhood, homosexuality, unplanned pregnancy and abortion, family secrets, domestic abuse, divorce, single motherhood, women’s rights and romance in middle age.
Sherrie becomes the first girl in the family to go to college, and then to law school. She meets the man of her dreams, marries him, and leaves her career as an attorney behind. But her husband turns out to have old-fashioned patriarchal ideas of his own.
Eventually, they divorce, leaving her a single mother of two. Informed by all of her life experiences, Sherrie feels compelled to re-establish her legal career as an attorney fighting for Roe v. Wade and equal rights, and helping abused women.
As the 2000s dawn, Sherrie pivots toward female financial empowerment, as she embarks on a new, modern romance.
A story of tragedies and triumphs to which every reader can relate, Farewell to South Shore not only refers to departure from a place, but also serves as a metaphor for leaving a time and culture that will never exist again.
“The book inspires perseverance and determination to help take charge of one’s own life in a rapidly changing world,” Wexler added. “A world vastly different from the idyllic South Shore of the main character’s youth.”
About the Author
A native Chicagoan, Charlene Wexler has been a teacher, wife, dental office manager, mother and grandmother. In retirement, her lifelong passion for writing has led her to create several essays and novels. Her other books include Murder on Skid Row, Milk and Oranges, Murder Across the Ocean, Lori and Elephants In The Room. Her work has also appeared in Black Tie Magazine, NPR Europe Travel Guidebooks Worth Reading, Reader’s Digest, North Shore Magazine, the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry’s Vision magazine, Alpha Omegan magazine, the Gazette Chicago and several blogs. She lives in Illinois with her dentist husband. Her three adorable grandchildren live out of state but visit often.
For more information, please visit https://speakingvolumes.us/author/charlene-wexler/
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Farewell-South-Shore-Charlene-Wexler/dp/B0CT2FHJFW/
Farewell to South Shore
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
Release Date: January 22, 2024
ISBN-13: 979-8890220721
Available from Amazon.com
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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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