Continental Quotient - Stories from both sides of the Divide

My book, Continental Quotient Stories from Both Sides of theDivide will be published next month. 

Have you ever dreamed of living at a ski resort, living in the mountains, and walking out your door to hike, ski, or mountain bike? This is exactly what happened when Kristen decided to take her first job working at a ski resort at 29. After a few years living in the best ski resorts in the east, she becomes the westerner she always wanted to be and moves to Colorado. 

This collection of stories takes place in mountain towns across the east and the west – both sides of the divide. Some stories are funny lift line stories about meeting interesting people and some serious about living in a tough, arid landscape. The stories are filled with poetry and love of place. Kristen finds forever friends in all these places, learns how to ski bumps in western powder, and becomes a triathlete.

I am fortunate to have four advance reviews from writers I respect.

My former editor at the Sky Hi News wrote this:

 “For all us East Coast refugees who spent countless nights poring over photographs and maps dreaming about moving West—the mythical West that is as much state of mind as place—Continental Quotient rekindles fond memories of envisioning our futures and retracing the trails that led us here. Lodge’s stories also bring into sharp focus a discovery that many of us who succumbed to our impulses and made the crossing may not have expected: a land populated by kindred spirits and steadfast friends far from the steamy confines of the East’s deciduous milieu, where the tug of family and childhood remains resolute and unassailable. Standing astride the Great Divide, Continental Quotient plants a foot in each world and dares us to follow. It’s well worth the journey.”  —Drew Munro, Longtime eastern transplant and rural western newspaper editor

This writing project is classified as a memoir; an inspirational memoir. I hope that readers will be reminded about their adventures in the mountains and all the great people they met. I hope they will also think they can truly do anything they dream about – climb mountains, run a marathon, move to a new place, - anything is possible. 

Pre-Race Poster

This book is my journey telling tales of the years searching for the best place. The stories take place in gorgeous mountain settings from northern Maine to western Colorado. As an outsider in these places I fell in love with them easily. But when it was time to go, nothing held me. I was able to move on, easily, maybe too easily while eager to find the next best place, to get to know another place. There are still so many great places I want to see. 

Catalina Highway Tucson, Arizona

Sunday River, Maine

I now live in Tucson. Much like the other places I moved to, I had never been to Tucson prior to the move; but had a sense that I would love it – and I do. I found mountains and trails here, and I found my people: the outdoor lovers, the runners, the bikers, and true friends. 

View Continental Quotient's Pinterest board with photos that accompany each chapter.