This summer’s headlines have been hotter than August asphalt.
P. Diddy Combs busted for bad ass booty calls, Beyonce’s bronc bustin’ boots spurred western wear sales, and Elon Musk got the boot.
The WNBA is finally getting the ESPN primetime treatment it deserves, and the Colorado Rockies are the worst team in baseball history.
Let’s talk about something even messier than the hard and soft news: family.
I wrote a historical fiction novel titled A New Dawn at Libby Flats, which is about what happens during October of 2006 when old secrets, broken friendships, and a long-forgotten promise come crashing into the present.
It’s not a coming-of-age story but a coming-to-terms story, and it begins, like a lot of stories do, with a funeral. The novel cuts back and forth between the through story and the back stories of each of the characters. The past and present eventually collide.
A Story About Promises, Pacts, and the People We Carry
Becca, originally from New Jersey, dies from cancer. In life, she was the center of a love triangle between Jack, a privileged Ivy Leaguer, and Gary, a Wyoming Rancher, two former college roommates whose rivalry was never quite resolved.
She chose Gary. To find out why, read the book. Jack disappeared into the mountains of southern Wyoming. Becca’s, death brings everyone back together, like it or not.
The funeral is held at the Blue Sky Village cohousing community in Boulder, Colorado. Gary’s an aging idealist.
Elizabeth, his and Becca’s estranged daughter, returns after being laid off from a high-powered job and narrates the story.
She’s caught between generations, trying to make sense of what her parents and their friends became.
Avery, now a rock-climbing guide and B&B owner in the Devil’s Tower backcountry, is summoned by Gary to track down Jack, who’s holed up in his minimalist cabin near Centennial, refusing to engage with the world.
Libby Flats: The Windy Ridge That Held a Pact
Jack, Gary, Becca, and Avery made a pact back in the 1960s when they were students at the University of Wyoming. Someday, no matter what life brought, they’d fulfill their pact.
Life brought a lot to each of them: betrayal, buried cultural biases, political divides, and the weight of dreams deferred.
After Becca’s funeral, Avery drives Gary and Jack on a road trip, reliving their youth and finally facing it.
Regret and Reconciliation at High Elevation
What unfolds at Libby Flats isn’t sentimental. These aren’t fresh-faced 20-somethings figuring themselves out. They’re elderly and trying to reconcile who they thought they were with who they actually became.
There are quiet revelations: about privilege, about cultural blindness, about the roles they each played in Becca’s life and her death. Jack’s pain, Gary’s guilt, Avery’s silence, and Elizabeth’s questions all come to the surface under the vast Wyoming sky.
This is a book that squarely examines how people fail each other, across lines of privilege and ideology, and also how they can find their way back, not perfectly, but honestly.
Why You Might See Yourself in This Story
If you’ve ever…
-
Avoided someone because the apology felt too hard
-
Felt the awkward weight of cultural or generational tension at a family gathering
-
Had a long-lost friend who disappeared after a falling out
-
Or wondered what it would take to finally let go of resentment…
…then you’ll recognize the soul of A New Dawn at Libby Flats. It’s not just about Becca, Jack, and Gary. It’s about all of us aging, grieving, regretting, and maybe getting one more chance to do it right.
Ready to Hit the Road, what’s your Libby Flats Moment?
Start reading A New Dawn at Libby Flats today:
Whether you’re into windy mountain road trips, rocky relationships, or just trying to figure out why you still think about someone from 20 years ago, this book is for you.
What promise did you forget to keep? What road trip changed your life, or could have, if you’d gone?
Leave a comment and share your story. I’d love to read it, and who knows, your thoughts might spark something for the next book!
If you have questions or comments, start a conversation with the ALAN BOT. We learn more and more every day!
