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Duck Pond Epiphany

A Novel

Published by She Writes Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

Though educated as a painter, fifty-three-year-old Lee MacPhearson has lived her life coloring inside of the lines. The quintessential working mother of four, Lee has been the proper faculty wife—an ill-fitting role at best—while somehow managing to nurture her passion project, Mad Dog Gallery, into one of the Pacific Northwest’s most notable galleries. The casualty in all of this has been Lee’s marriage—and her sense of self. Having just delivered her last child to college, Lee is overwhelmed by her empty nest, and she’s left wondering what happened to the woman she once was. But she’s also giddy: finally, the opportunity to decide what she alone wants. Her estranged husband Brian, however, knows exactly what he wants: Lee and the life they once shared. He launches his campaign to reconcile before Lee even sets foot into her newly empty farmhouse, his apologies well-rehearsed. Ultimately, however, Barb Yakamura, Lee’s best friend and the brilliant and irreverent Artistic Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, is the one who truly overflows with ideas about what Lee should do—including one that leads Lee, Brian, and the entire MacPhearson family to an ending they never expected.

About The Author

Tracey Barnes Priestley holds a Master’s degree in Community Counseling Psychology and spent many years as a therapist before moving into the field of personal coaching. An award-winning syndicated columnist for fourteen years (Juggling Jobs and Kids), Tracey currently writes and blogs about issues she, and countless others, face in the second half of life at www.thesecondhalfonline.com. An amateur singer and performer, she finally earned a percentage of the box office when, inspired by her print column, she co-wrote, produced, and starred in a one-act musical, “The Second Half: A Lively Look at Life after Fifty.” Married for thirty-five years and the mother of three, Tracey lives among the redwoods of northern California with her recently retired husband and their loyal mutt, Bella von Doodle.

Product Details

  • Publisher: She Writes Press (May 12, 2013)
  • Length: 244 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781938314254

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Raves and Reviews

“From deep within her heart and graced with style, Barnes Priestley engages us in a story of life, friendship and love. Appreciating the importance of human connection, Barnes Priestley writes inspired prose with clarity, poise, humor, and an added dose of salt of the earth realism.”
—Rosemary O’Neill, LMFT, Certified Life Coach

Duck Pond Epiphany is about things that matter. It is a story about both the lusciousness, and the despair, that accompany true love. Barnes Priestley writes a vibrant account of living life to the fullest, and the bene ts and burdens of authentic relationships. I couldn’t put it down.”
—Sheila Rocker Heppe, Director of Extended Education and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Humboldt State University

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