When Chris Lawler is left adrift by the sudden loss of her partner, she heads west on a cross-country road trip—but no GPS can navigate her loneliness or the guilt over her part in Sally’s accident.

Struggling to find belonging among Utah’s red rocks and in the Texas Hill Country, she meets two remarkably different people who begin to kindle her healing. She is smitten by one of them, but past rejection renders her insecure and awkward. Adding to her isolation, her judgmental kin in Texas rebuff her attempts to reconcile.

A violent reckoning at the small town library where her family lives finally forces Chris to confront the roadblocks that prevent her from loving and being loved. At its heart, The Salt and Light Express explores and celebrates the depths of friendship between two older women, both rebounding from

personal tragedies and wondering if their joy is in the rearview mirror.

Lee Ann Walling