Dan's Papers - May 6, 2008 - Dan's Book Review: In Transit

Across America you can find RVs traversing the country's interstates filled with families, retired couples and those seeking the adventure of the road. From summer vacations to those who call it their "rig" home, RVing has become an American tradition. Local writer Mary Agria, who lived in Southampton for four years while her husband served as Vice President and Academic Dean for Southampton College and now calls Southold home, explores the transitory lifestyle of full-time RVing in her latest novel, In Transit.

Lib Aventura has lost her husband and is now alternating days with her two children. The grieving process nearly undoes this strong woman, turning her into someone she does not recognize. The day finally arrives when Lib understands that she cannot continue on in this manner. Before his death, she and her husband, Dan, had sold their home, purchased a used motorhome and spent their final days together exploring the country. Lib decides it is time for her to reclaim her life, her independence and start living the way she and Dan had dreamed.

When Lib arrives at the campground where her RV has been stored since her husband's death, she is met with a caustic greeting from Paul Lauden, the owner of the campground, who mistakes her for a common call girl. The initial mistake is soon overcome and the two eventually find solace in their mutual experience of losing a spouse. Paul teaches Lib how to drive and care for her motorhome. Lib becomes the campground's program director, creating monthly calendars and event planning with the hope of attracting more tourists. They each deal with their loss in different ways but alternately admire the other for the ability to overcome. The two find romance in the remote forests of upper Michigan. Their respective children are against the union but in time come to terms with their parents finding new life after the loss of loved ones.

This was Agria's third book - Time in a Garden and VOX HUMANA: The Human Voice being her first two novels. She started fiction writing after a long career writing about rural community development and workforce issues. She also was the author for 20 years of a newspaper column entitled "Winning the Rat Race" that eventually became a college level textbook.

Agria brings her life experience and aptitude for writing deftly to the table with In Transit. It does display some weaknesses, as Lib frequently becomes angry and defensive, presumably due to the sexual tension that was not apparent, although expected. The standard romantic conflict between hero and heroine felt forced and unnatural with angry outbursts arriving out of thin air. Agria makes up for those weaknesses with her sweet and charming characters. Lib comes into contact with an assorted and likeable group of individuals, as she becomes a part of this close-knit community. Annie, the owner of the local Greek restaurant, has had her own share of struggles but always has a smile and a cheery word. Arvo, the handyman of the campground, has seen his share of loss also but manages to bring a goofy humor to the book.

In Transit is in many ways a standard romance as the end of the book becomes a little obvious somewhere in the second chapter, leaving the reader with few surprises. The journey is still filled with pleasant familial interactions and the reader will enjoy watching the characters grow and progress. Agria manages to broach the tender subject of losing a spouse and the difficult journey of moving on. Those of retirement age are faced with a multitude of issues to be faced after the death of a loved one. Having led full, rich lives, how does a person continue to exist with fulfillment after loss? Is it a betrayal of many years spent together, raising families and building lives to move on and find love again? In today's day and age, people are living longer, fuller lives. How can a person ignore the second lifetime left to live after retirement?

Agria displays moments of wisdom, the kind that only a lifetime of experiences can wield. She certainly is in touch with the issues surrounding today's baby boomers. As her heroine, Lib, ventures off on her own, the reader cheers on this lone woman reclaiming her life. May we all have the courage and spunk of Lib Aventura and never get "too old" to live.