Running From Paradise

For fans of Tell Me Everything and The Correspondent, a contemporary women’s fiction narrative about an unsociable older woman’s struggle to rebuild her life after losing everything in the 2018 fire in Paradise, California.

As the devastating 2018 Paradise, California, fire destroys her home and community, sixty-three-year old Nan (real name Nefertiti), a former marathoner, manages to escape the flames after fleeing on foot—but her beloved cat, Molasses, disappears in the chaos, and she worries about the safety of her best friend, Elaine.

Recently widowed and now having lost everything, Nan is grateful to have survived but terrified about what lies ahead. She has no insurance on her house or car, little work experience, and limited savings. Though happily reunited with Elaine and Molasses, her troubles are just beginning. Fighting depression and the effects of a concussion incurred while running from the fire, she reluctantly takes a job in a local supermarket to make ends meet. As unexpected betrayals and losses pile up, Nan turns to art and the support of her friends to begin the difficult work of mending her self-confidence—and her heart.

Insightful, poignant, and ultimately uplifting, Running from Paradise is the story of an older woman’s emotional journey toward recovery, self-affirmation, and hope.