‘A Young Wife’ author at Memorial Library

KENT — Author Pam Lewis, a former resident of Kent, returned to town Sept. 24 to talk about and read from her new book, “A Young Wife,” at the Kent Memorial Library. “‘A Young Wife’ is historical fiction, very loosely based on an eventful life, my grandmother’s,” Lewis said in an interview before the talk. She described her two previous books, “Perfect Family” and “Speak Softly, She Can Hear” as psychological thrillers.Lewis is not new to writing, though her first novel was not accepted for publication until her 59th birthday. Before becoming a published author, she worked as a reporter and did freelance work writing marketing copy and magazine articles. She has also devoted much of her worklife to enjoying the outdoors. She used to join her husband, Robert Funk, on hikes and treks that he led. She enjoyed them and eventually became one of his co-leaders, taking groups all over the planet, from California to Bhutan.On her website, Lewis said her new book is about a teenage girl from a small, rural town in the Netherlands who was sent to care for the dying wife of a much older man, Sander DeVries. “She is unprepared for his sumptuous home in Amsterdam, for the tension in the household caused by the couple’s disagreeable daughter and impaired son, or for the mystery around Sander’s background and business,” according to the website.The book has roots in her family’s history, Lewis said. “Later in life I learned my then-15-year-old grandmother was hired to take care of a dying relative in the home of my grandfather, then 35 years old. That job took her to South America, where my grandfather was opening a retail store. Eventually he abandoned her in New York with four young children and few skills.” “Despite all that,” Lewis said, “she continued to love her husband all her life.”Information about other programs at the Kent Memorial Library can be found online at www.kentmemoriallibrary.org or by telephone at 860-927-3761.