I’m thrilled to have Elizabeth Gauffreau here today to talk about her latest book, “The Weight of Snow and Regret.” It is a beautiful and touching read. Here’s my review: LINK
Introduction
Thank you for hosting me on my blog tour for The Weight of Snow and Regret, Denise! Today I will shine the spotlight on Flossie Kimball, the oldest of the Poor Farm residents in the novel. But first, here is what The Weight of Snow and Regret is all about.
Description
For over 100 years, no one wanted to be sent to the Sheldon Poor Farm. By 1968, no one wanted to leave.
Amid the social turmoil of 1968, the last poor farm in Vermont is slated for closure. By the end of the year, the twelve destitute residents remaining will be dispatched to whatever institutions will take them, their personal stories lost forever.
Hazel Morgan and her husband Paul have been matron and manager at the Sheldon Poor Farm for the past 20 years. Unlike her husband, Hazel refuses to believe the impending closure will happen. She believes that if she just cares deeply enough and works hard enough, the Sheldon Poor Farm will continue to be a safe haven for those in need, herself and Paul included.
On a frigid January afternoon, the overseer of the poor and the town constable from a nearby town deliver a stranger to the poor farm for an emergency stay. She refuses to tell them her name, where she came from, or what her story is. It soon becomes apparent to Hazel that whatever the woman’s story is, she is deeply ashamed of it.
Hazel fights to keep the stranger with them until she is strong enough to face, then resume, her life—while Hazel must face the tragedies of her own past that still haunt her.
Told with compassion and humor, The Weight of Snow & Regret tells the poignant story of what it means to care for others in a rapidly changing world.
The character of Flossie was inspired by a photograph from the Library of Congress.
When I began drafting the novel, I knew that one of the poor farm residents would have been impacted by the Great Flood of 1927, the worst natural disaster in Vermont’s history. Flossie was the right age. The following film footage shows the devastation the flood left in its wake. (The video is best viewed on a small screen.)
Excerpt from “He Had a Dream” Chapter
Ninety-four-year-old Flossie started out a happy young bride on the prettiest little farm overlooking the Missisquoi River. All that changed once the babies started coming. Three children dead before their sixth birthdays, one from whooping cough, one from diphtheria, the third from scarlet fever. Her eldest son survived childhood, only to be killed in the Great War, his grave somewhere in France bereft of a mother’s ministrations. The defining event for the remainder of Flossie’s life would come with the Great Flood of 1927. The rampaging flood waters destroyed the pretty little farm overlooking the Missisquoi River and swept her beloved husband away.
Books2Read Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/WeightofSnow
Author Biography
Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. Her work has been widely published in literary magazines, as well as several themed anthologies. Her short story “Henrietta’s Saving Grace” was awarded the 2022 Ben Nyberg prize for fiction by Choeofpleirn Press.
She has previously published a novel, Telling Sonny: The Story of a Girl Who Once Loved the Vaudeville Show, and two collections of photopoetry, Grief Songs: Poems of Love & Remembrance and Simple Pleasures: Haiku from the Place Just Right.
Liz’s professional background is in nontraditional higher education, including academic advising, classroom and online teaching, curriculum development, and program administration. She received the Granite State College Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018. Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her husband. Find her online at https://lizgauffreau.
Click/tap to follow blog tour: https://lizgauffreau.com/the-weight-of-snow-and-regret-blog-tour-2/
Congratulations to Elizabeth on this book.
The flood and destruction in Vermont shows that destruction is a moment in time from which things will recover.
The history of Flossie is sad and a reminder of how hard things were then
The book certainly sounds like a good read
It’s a fantastic read, Sue 🙂 Times were definitely tough then for sure. A single moment can sure change everything
Thank you, Sue. Vermont’s recovery from the 1927 flood let to one of the most moving political speeches I’ve ever read (or head). It’s by President Calvin Coolidge. https://coolidgefoundation.org/resources/vermont-is-a-state-i-love/
*heard
Just finished the book and enjoyed it very much.
It was a good one, Sharon, for sure 🙂
Thank you, Sharon! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book.
The flood video footage is sobering. I’m currently reading The Weight of Snow and Regret and loving it!
It really is Priscilla. The massive power of water and the damage it leaves behind is scary. Sure is a great read.
Thank you, Priscilla! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the book.
A great stop, Liz. That flood footage was something else. Congratulations. Thanks, Denise for hosting.
It really was heartbreaking to see, John. Happy to have Liz here today to spread the word on her great book.
Thank you, John. Calvin Coolidge’s speech about the recovery from the flood is one of the most moving I’ve ever read. Who knew Silent Cal could be so eloquent? https://coolidgefoundation.org/resources/vermont-is-a-state-i-love/
Great release by Liz. It awaits me on my Kindle.
You have an engrossing read ahead, Jacqui.
Thank you, Jacqui. Happy reading!!
It’s great to see Liz’s fascinating book on the tour, Denise, and so nice that you hosted her. Congratulations, Liz!
Thank you, Tim!
My pleasure, Liz. 😊
It’s a fantastic read, Timothy! Happy to be sharing it.
A wonderful revelation, Denise. Congratulations, Liz!
Thank you, Joy!
It was a good one, Joy 🙂
Flossie’s story is very tragic. The footage of the flood is frightening. Water can be so powerful.
Flossie’s story waa sad, Robbie. Yes, very frightening to see the extent of the flooding and how powerful water can be.
Parts of Vermont experienced catastrophic flooding in 2023 that was nearly as bad as 1927 but without the casualties, thank goodness.
Having previously enjoyed Telling Sonny (I’m more of a novel than poetry fan), I was excited to learn that Liz was coming out with a new book. I preordered it and intend to either read it this month or next. (Several others to get to first).
The reading list is always long, Pete. You have a good read ahead!
Thank you, Pete. I hope you enjoy the read!
Another interesting character from the book. What sad lives some women had to endure.
I agree, so sad what woman and others went through Darlene. A touching read.
I’d say that the premature deaths of children and husbands had to be the hardest to endure.
My, how compelling. .
It really is, Joy 🙂
Thank you, Joy. It felt so bad for Flossie. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to outlive everyone with whom you had a shared history.
The video of the 1927 flood is sobering. Thank you for this backstory on Flossie. Not many folks lived to be ninety-four back then. And I love how Hazel, then Claire tends to her needs. This book is gripping, Liz. I’m getting close to the end! It’s a great story. Congratulations on the release, the blog tour, and on a book that will impact many! Thank you, Denise, for hosting today!
So happy to share this story, Jan. Such a fantastic read. I agree that video was very sobering.
Thank you very much on all counts, Jan!
Congratulations Liz. This book is on my booklist, not very far. You are having a blasting blog tour! Thanks for sharing it, Denise.
Thank you for your support, Balroop! I hope you enjoy the book.
Congratulations to Liz on her book, and for a fabulous blog tour!!!
Such a great read, Linda! Thanks for dropping by and supporting Liz 🙂
Thank you very much, Linda!
It’s easy to forget how harsh life was just 100 years ago, how many children lost, how easy to be pulled under without any safety net to help you recover. (K)
It was so different then and so much heartbreak, Kerfe. Such a eye opening read.
Thank you very much, Kerfe. I think we take a lot for granted nowadays.
The flood video was terrifying. Bridges were gone one after another. Flossie had a hard life losing all four children with three didn’t live beyonf six. Great research and story, Liz! Thank you for hosting, Denise.
You both have more visitors at my place! 🙂 <3 🙂 <3
It really was hard to see, Miriam. Yes, such a hard life for Flossie, it would be hard to overcome. So happy to share this story. Sorry I haven’t been good about visiting but finally got our optic fiber internet and now get our house ready for it. At least I will be able to leave comments much easier.l
Thank you, Miriam! I think I’m caught up on comments at your place now.
I saw that, Liz! You’re busy with the back to back blog tour. It’s exciting to have many visitors.
It is!
I really like how this blog tour is featuring different aspects of the book, or different characters in it. Shared both posts on Twitter.
Best wishes, Pete.
There are so many great characters to feature and make it an interesting tour, Pete:) Thanks for sharing and dropping by.
Thank you, Pete! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the tour.
Just fascinating… looking forward to reading Liz’s book… it’s on the way now!
All the historical information behind the story really is fascinating, Chris. You have a good read ahead.
Thank you very much, Chris! I hope you enjoy the read.
Flossie’s story is tragic and compelling. So many children used to die of diseases now preventable with vaccines (if they receive them).
The devastation from that flood was horrific.
Yes, so incredibly sad, Merrill. The loss of children would be so hard to handle from things we can treat now. Floods are so scary and powerful. That footage of it really showed that.
It really did.
Thank you, Merril. I was shocked by the movie footage, the still photographs, and the newspaper accounts of the flooding. It looked more like coastal hurricane damage.
You’re welcome, Liz.
It’s strange how those things work.
Yes, it is.
A most interesting character history.
Thanks for the tour stop! I’m excited for Liz to be at my place tomorrow!
It’s a terrific book!
Thank you, Resa! I had a good time at your place today!
Yayay!
I loved having you and your pals here, Liz!
And we do share some of the same pals.
This will be up for several days, so check in again. One never knows who will drop by!
Will do!
👍
I agree, Resa 🙂 It is a terrific book and great characters!
Denise, thank you for highlighting Liz, and her new book!
Thank you for stopping by, Eugi!
My pleasure, Liz.
Honored to be a part of the tour, Eugi!
😊
What a heartbreaking excerpt, but a wonderful tour stop for Liz’s wonderful book. Thanks for hosting, Denise, and Congrats to Liz! ❤️
Thank you very much, Lauren!
You’re so welcome, Liz!
So happy to be spreading the word for Liz’s great read, Lauren:)
great excerpt and this book sounds pretty great
It was a read I couldn’t put down and will remember, Yvette!
that says a lot!!
Hi Liz
We wish you big sales and say “congratulations”.
Wishing you a happy Sunday
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank you very much, Klausbernd!
Thank you for stopping by and supporting, Liz, Klausbernd!
I’m very excited for Liz and her new book. At least one of my ancestors ended up on a poor farm, so I’m intrigued by what she has to share.
Thank you very much, Dawn!
It’s a fantastic read, Dawn. Interesting you had a relative that ended up on a poor farm and I bet they had stories to tell about it. I learned a lot ftom this story.
Nice to see Liz making the tour round over here. Congrats again! 🥰
It is fun to follow along Debby, plus we get some fascinating history 🙂
Pricilla’s story is so SAD! I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose so many children. Your book is awaiting me on kindle. I look forward to reading it.
Liz, such a great book. Every time Flossie worries about the rain I feel so for her.