Author Rowe will visit Carrabassett library Sept. 8

CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Gail Anne Rowe, author of “The Roots of a Family – Life in Rural Maine,” will be the guest speaker at the Carrabassett Valley Public Library, 3209 Carrabassett Drive on Saturday, Sept. 8.
Rowe will speak, as well as sign books, beginning at 3 p.m.

Rowe’s book takes readers on a journey to rural Maine as it was in the early half of the 20th century. The author tells the story of the lives of her parents and their families during the Great Depression and World War II. Her maternal grandparents raised 16 children in a four-room house without the benefit of electricity or indoor plumbing, while her paternal grandparents had a small but prosperous dairy farm and market garden. Rich with historical references, this book is “a remarkable tale capturing a lost way of life, strikingly candid.”
Rowe was born and raised in Maine, graduated from Colby College in 1972, and earned a master’s degree from the University of Maine. In 2003 she retired from teaching at Southern Maine Community College after 27 years. Since then she has been traveling with her husband, mostly in Southeast Asia, gardening at home in southern Maine, and writing this book. It was originally written for her family, but after rave reviews from non-family members, she self-published the book at TheBookPatch.com.
After being reviewed in the Portland Press Herald, she has been invited to speak at 11 libraries and historical societies and at Penobscot Valley Senior College.
“The Roots of a Family – Life in Rural Maine” is in 10 Maine libraries and carried by some independent bookstores. It is also available at amazon.com and from GRowe02@yahoo.com. Rowe’s book is being used as a text in a history class at Brewer High School in Brewer.