Author Karen Foster completed her first novel, Reasons for Waking, shortly before her death in 2022. Her sister Lori Turley and her other siblings were determined to get the book published. Not only was it published (by Bold Story Press, which publishes books exclusively by women) but it recently was awarded the Readers’ Favorite Award, Silver Medal in the “Fiction – General” category.
Lori Turley will discuss her sister’s book and life on Thursday, November 2 at 7 pm in the Winn Room at Coronado Public Library. Turley, who currently lives in Pennsylvania, has a strong connection to Coronado. Her husband Craig and she are both retired Naval Officers who lived in Coronado for 24 years, raising their children here. The couple were very involved with the schools and youth sports programs. They still have a home here, and have many friends here.
Lori, Karen and their other siblings (six in all) grew up in a military family that relocated a lot, which drew the family together. Eventually the siblings settled in five different states. Karen was an inspiration to all of them. She was born blind from congenital cataracts. She was a technical writer and editor, but considered herself a creative writer first. It was her lifelong dream to write a novel.
In October 2020, Karen was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. In November 2021, Karen called her siblings, ecstatic that her novel was going to be published. Shortly after that call, her health took a sudden turn for the worse, and she was unable to complete the final edits. Her siblings promised her they would do everything possible to get the book published.
About Reasons for Waking:
Years after traumatic events nearly destroy two families, Philip, a reclusive professor in a small Southern university town, is approached by the daughter of the man who apparently caused his family’s long-ago tragedy. They join forces to retrace the events that upended both their lives and eventually manage to peel away years of misunderstanding, evasion, and estrangement to discover the truth. Throughout, the steady presence of Philip’s affectionate black Lab gives his life purpose and provides distance from others — until eventually, as the truth of the long-ago events is revealed, he finds that he has other reasons for living. Reasons for Waking explores the paths the families take to recovery and reconciliation. Family secrets are exposed, and the walls that Philip built between himself and the world begin to crumble. Reasons for Waking explains a family mystery that shows how frayed our connections can become when we try to skirt the truth, and how facing the truth can heal us. (Description from Bold Story Press)
For more information about Karen Foster and Reasons for Waking, please visit reasons-for-waking.com.
