The Elegant Gathering of White Snows

Book excerpt: Eight Women on a Journey That Will Change Their Lives as Lovers, Wives, Mothers, Daughters, Friends Just after midnight in a small town in Wisconsin, eight women begin walking together down a rural highway. Career women, housewives, mothers, divorcées, and one ex–prom queen, they are close friends who have been meeting every Thursday night for years, sharing food, wine, and their deepest secrets. But on this particular Thursday, Susan, Alice, Chris, Sandy, Gail, Mary, Joanne, and Janice decide to disappear from their own lives. Their spontaneous pilgrimage attracts national attention and inspires other women from all across the country. As the miles fall away and the women forge ahead on their backroads odyssey—leaving small miracles in their wake—each of their histories unfolds, tales of shattered dreams and unexpected renewal, of thwarted love affairs and precious second chances.In luminous, heartwarming prose, Kris Radish deftly interweaves the women’s intimate confessions into the story of their brave, history-making walk. A breathtaking achievement, The Elegant Gathering of White Snows tells an incomparable tale of friendship and love, loss and liberation.