Franklin Folsom: The Great Peace March with Gerda Lawrence

by Folsom and Connie Fledderjohann

A grandmother named Tig leaves her family for a year to walk across North America. In letters to and from daughters, husband, and grandchildren, she and her family reveal themselves and their feelings in entirely new ways. A masterful novel about the complicated ties that bind families together and the love that has the power to drive them apart.

I get to do a cross-country walk without leaving home. I am not very athletic, although I love skiing and rafting, both gravity sports, you will notice. I admire people who want to change the world, but I don’t quite believe in their dreams. Power corrupts. Weakness corrupts even more. There’s a very loving marriage here and a long and happy friendship. The idea for the structure, The Walk, came from Franklin Folsom’s book about a peace march he did years ago.

-Joanne Greenberg