'Farewell to South Shore' a novel of girl's idyllic youth in the '50s, and becoming a woman in the tumultuous '60s
The Californer/10269607

CHICAGO - Californer -- Resourceful women struggling to overcome adversity are at the core of some of author Charlene Wexler's most popular books. Her newest one, Farewell to South Shore, published in February 2024 by Speaking Volumes, is no exception.

"Farewell to South Shore taps into and articulates a woman's emotions related to dealing with a changing society, particularly its expectations of women," Wexler explained.

In Farewell to South Shore, she 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.

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As the 1960s progress, Sherrie and her family increasingly encounter modern day problems and situations, including their 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 a 1970s attorney fighting for Roe v. Wade and equal rights, and helping abused women.

As the years go by, Sherrie pivots toward female financial empowerment, as she embarks on a new, modern romance.

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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.

About the Author

Award-winning author Charlene Wexler's books include Murder on Skid Row, Milk and Oranges, Murder Across the Ocean, Lori, and Elephants In The Room.

For more information, visit http://www.charlenewexler.com/ or https://speakingvolumes.us/author/charlene-wexler/, The book is available on major booksellers' websites such as Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com.