Gauffreau expertly teases out the stories of these two women, Claire and Hazel. She begins the novel with the mystery of Claire, a woman found ill-dressed for the Vermont winter, silent and close to starvation. Hazel manages the Sheldon Poor Farm where Claire is brought, and she manages to bring Claire back to life. Unlike the reader, she never learns the entirety of Claire’s story.

Gauffreau tells each woman’s story in her own words so eventually we learn what motivated Claire, a woman in her 40s with a husband and a teenage daughter, to leave her home in Louisiana and make an almost disastrous journey to Vermont.

We also learn about Hazel and her complicated relationship with her husband Paul and with the residents of the Sheldon Poor Farm, all the while with the closing of the farm hanging over their heads. Early in the novel, Gauffreau gives us a glimpse of Hazel’s relationship with Paul.

“What happened?” Paul said. “Where did she come from? I thought we weren’t taking new inmates.”

Hazel winced. After twenty years, would he never learn? “Residents, Paul.”

There’s tension between them, a tension borne not just out of hard, backbreaking, run-off-your-feet work, but, as we eventually learn, of deeper, irreversible experiences that would have destroyed any other couple.

Gauffreau tells Hazel’s story by going back and forth through time, each chapter revealing a bit more about this complicated woman, each chapter adding to a deeper understanding of this remarkable woman. She reminded me so much of my aunt Mildred who would have been Hazel’s peer: both women sculpted by the Great Depression, so stoic and hardworking, and beset by more tragedy than any one person should ever bear.

Gauffreau writes with a sensitivity that can only be gained through close and sympathetic observation. While she had to have undertaken extensive research to make this novel possible, the flow of her writing seems effortless.

In a pause between songs, a mournful cry drifted over the water, hung suspended before it cried again. Hazel lifted her head from Paul’s shoulder.

“What was that?”

“Loon. You never heard one before?”

“No, what’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing. That’s how mates find each other in the dark.”

The Weight of Snow and Regret is written like a mystery novel, a detail here and a detail there to give depth and shape to the lives at the Sheldon Poor Farm. You keep reading because you want to know. You want to know why and how Claire wound up at the farm and then why she left. You want to know how on earth did Hazel and Paul meet and then marry and stay together. You want to know about each of the residents, why they are at the farm, and what will happen to them when the farm is closed.

And now, as with all good novels, it gets personal for me.

Often while engrossed in The Weight of Snow and Neglect, I thought of my father. Around the time I was born and through my teenage years, my father alternated between living at home with us and being confined at the Utica State Hospital (originally called the New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica). Eventually he became too “well” for the institution, but not well enough to live unsupervised. My mother divorced him with I turned 18 but by then I think he was already living in a “halfway house.”

I never visited my father there. Although he wasn’t expected to work, he did have to share a home with several strangers. I don’t know what it was like for him because I never talked to him about it. But it probably would be too much to hope that he lived in a place like the Sheldon Poor Farm with Hazel to look after him. She would have seen his humanity and treated him with tender respect. She would have had him feel valued.

Thank you for reading. I hope this review encourages you to pick up a copy of Elizabeth Gauffreau’s novel The Weight of Snow and Regret. It is available in various formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop. I also highly recommend the audio version of this novel available at Audible and Libro.

You can also find Elizabeth and links to her other books at https://lizgauffreau.com.

I leave you with a photo of a couple of furry friends in upstate New York.

We have a new garage door. When you’re a homeowner, a lot of things become a priority that you’d just as soon not deal with. My husband and I are expert at kicking the can down the road until we have no choice but to deal with it. In this case, the garage door, after 45 years, decided it no longer wanted to open without my husband’s help. We’re not getting any younger so …

Voila! A garage door with windows!

Let the sun shine in!

It will be nice not to have to turn on a light every time we enter the garage.

Family

We visited my nephew and his family in South Carolina this weekend. Our first visit, but not our last. He has two teenage sons and a 6-year-old boy and (almost) 4-year-old girl. The drive from our home to Columbia was long (about 10 hours start to finish); the way home was only an hour shorter. But it was well worth it to have quality time with my nephew and his family and to be (at times) commandeered by his two youngest. For the most part, they considered us as furniture and spent a goodly amount of time sitting or lying on our laps. I had hoped to see a bit of Columbia itself, but once we were there, we just wanted to be with family.

Health

The last few weeks were spent seeing a lot of my orthopedic doctor as we (once again) tried a treatment to alleviate most of the pain in my left knee. Fortunately, I really like my doctor. She’s young, she listens, and she’s, overall, very cool. I received a series of hyaluronic acid injections as expected but she also removed a large amount of inflammatory fluid before each injection. Ick.

While my knee will never feel 100% great, I’m having a lot less pain. Fingers crossed it stays that way for a long while.

Flowers

It’s starting to bloom around here.

Cats

Raji and Wendy have a way of reminding me to enjoy the simple things in life, like the perfect sun squares for napping.

It’s so rare to see them willing to face each other while sleeping.

Thank you for reading!

My little team of one raised $305 and based on the number of donors (and, yes, I include myself), I’ll be sending $50 to a local food bank, Second Harvest of the Big Bend. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

This was an exciting and fun fundraiser during an extremely difficult time for our country. My deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed, either by knitting or donating or both. It just goes to show what we can do when we do it together.

As far as my knitting goes …

This design plus these yarns …

In the above photo, you can see the sample I had started to test the pattern. Then I got serious.

As you can see from the two photos above, several hours of knitting didn’t get me very far. I consider myself a fast knitter, but the yarn is quite fuzzy and thin. I need to knit slowly otherwise I’ll be dropping stitches.

So … My butt is tired and my fingers are tired, but I’m looking forward to continuing my work on this wrap. And I am just so thankful to have been a part of this wonderful experience. Many thanks to all of you who supported me.

For those who can’t view the video, here’s what I’m knitting: Floating Squares Wrap designed by Amy Christoffers.

I’ll be knitting with Rowan Kidsilk Haze, 70% mohair, 30% silk.

I love the colors, but I really don’t like knitting with mohair. This knit-a-thon will help me get through this particular project.

If you want to donate to my team of one, or just want more information, please use this link: Team Marie at Knit for Food Knit-a-thon

For every donor (including me), I’ll will give $5 to a local food bank, Second Harvest of the Big Bend.

The clock is ticking, I gotta start knitting. See you all later!

I’ve been remiss in promoting this fundraiser, and now it’s only a week away! On April 11, I will knit for (roughly) 12 hours in support of four major charitable organizations:

Feeding America

World Central Kitchen

No Kid Hungry

Meals on Wheels

In just a few weeks, Knit for Food has raised over $283,000, well within reach of the overall goal of $300,000. Last year we raised OVER $500,000 so my fingers are crossed that we exceed our goal this year.

Please note that 100% of the donations will be shared equally among Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.

I still have not decided what I’ll be knitting. As it is, I have more knitting projects lined up than there are days in the month so I’ll be able to keep myself busy. That’s not the problem. What I’ve been stymied by is whether to offer a knitted item as a gift in order to encourage donations.

Last year, I gave knitted items to randomly selected donors, and that was fun. Yet, I’ve been feeling I need to do something different this year. So many more people in the U.S. are hurting and struggling this year than last. I want to make more of an impact, even if it is still just a drop in the bucket. So …

For every person who donates to my team, I will give $5 to a local food bank, Second Harvest of the Big Bend.

This not an original idea. On Facebook, another knitter posted that she was going to do this instead of offering gifts, and her message sung to me.

To those of you who have already donated to my team, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

To those who might be thinking about it, please know that no donation is too small. If you donate $5, I will still put $5 toward Second Harvest.

So, if you wish to donate, here’s the link to my team of one: https://givebutter.com/knitforfood26/team-marie-in-tallahassee/mariebailey

Of course, any cheerleading you can offer will also be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for reading and for your support.

From the back cover, the reader is told that:

Scrap: Salvaging a Family is a hybrid flash memoir tracing the long shadow of childhood fear and the complexities of forgiving a dying parent. As a daughter uncovers her father’s painful origins, she begins to understand the man behind the anger–and reclaims pieces of herself in the process.

When Scrap first arrived in my mailbox and I (literally) tore open the packaging, I was struck by the beauty of the cover. While my main textile interest has always been knitting, I’ve been fascinated by collage, the taking of bits of memorabilia, letters and pictures from magazines, perhaps scraps of fabric, and affixing them in such a way that they tell a story. [Interestingly, my most vivid memory of making collage was in a support group I was co-facilitating for survivors of domestic violence. The collages made by that group were illuminating and empowering.]

Then there’s the format of Scrap, perhaps the most unusual format I’ve seen for a memoir. Luanne opens with three definitions of the word bastard and explains how each definition fits to Rudy, her father. It’s a tender but clear-eyed introduction to Rudy. With one definition:

For my father, born in 1928, bastard, a jagged blade, ripped his heart.

Yet, with another:

In my father’s case, it [bastard] meant he could be a genuine and legitimate dick.

Scrap is organized into parts, and each “chapter” within each part begins with the first several words in bold. Rarely does a chapter (or scene or section or whatever you want to call it) go longer than a page. Each flash in this memoir could stand on its own, and many of them have been published elsewhere. But you know the saying: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s Scrap.

*So what do I mean by “complicated-uncomplicated?” Early on in Scrap, we are introduced to Rudy’s “wolf teeth” and “wolf mask.” Later, we are horrified by bouts of his physical and emotional violence. And yet there are moments of tenderness, of love. And moments of Rudy’s pain and suffering that Luanne excavates for us. Luanne gives voice to her father’s own difficult childhood, his concerns for the starving children he came across while serving in Korea, his relationship with his grandchildren. Rudy is a complicated man but isn’t every man complicated? Isn’t every woman complicated? And don’t they become less complicated the more we understand them?

Of course, here, as usual, I’m thinking of my own complicated-uncomplicated childhood and family life where the key character is my mother. While she didn’t have wolf teeth, she had an icy sternness. Frost hung in the air when she gave me the silent treatment. That’s how I remember her as a child. My writing about her–although not in memoir as much as fiction–has made her less complicated and, thus, more human.

But I digress …

Like many memoirs, Scrap entices me to consider how I would write about my own life. The form that Luanne has chosen makes so much sense. It validates memory as a crazy quilt of remembrances. It allows us to imagine the voice and actions of our parents before we knew them. It brings together the bits and bobs of our lives, and lets them be what they are.

Very early in Scraps, when describing a memory of herself as very little, Luanne writes:

I will always be a creature of senses in that image. But I’m a big girl now, ready for school and full of narratives that dismantle themselves and intermingle their puzzle pieces so you can’t put the stories together with sense.

Oh, but these narratives and puzzle pieces do make sense, together and apart. With this hybrid of flashes, we as readers develop a more nuanced sense of Luanne’s childhood and her father than we would have through a traditional linear narrative. As writers, we are being shown another, perhaps more effective, way to tell our own stories.

Scrap: Salvaging a Family is available through ELJ Editions and Amazon. Luanne also publishes on WordPress at https://writersite.org and Substack at https://luannecastle.substack.com.

Luanne Castle’s story, “Garden Seasons,” was selected for Best Microfiction 2026. Her poetry and prose have appeared in Copper Nickel, River Teeth, Your Impossible Voice, JMWW, Grist, Fourteen Hills, Verse Daily, Disappointed Housewife, Lunch Ticket, Saranac Review, Pleiades, Cleaver, Moon City, Moon Park, Anti-Heroin Chic, Bending Genres, BULL, The Mackinaw, The Ekphrastic Review, Phoebe, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Gone Lawn, Burningword, Superstition Review, One Art, Roi Fainéant, Dribble Drabble, Flash Boulevard, O:JA&L, Sheila-Na-Gig, Thimble, Antigonish Review, Longridge, Paragraph Planet, Six Sentences, Gooseberry Pie, Switch, andGinosko. She has published four award-winning poetry collections.  Her ekphrastic flash and poetry collection Hunting the Cosmos is forthcoming from Shanti Arts in fall 2026. Her mixed-media art has been showcased at Rogue Agent, Ink in Thirds, Watershed Review, Wildscape, Mad Swirl, Raw Lit, and Thimble. Luanne has been a Fellow at the Center for Ideas and Society at the University of California, Riverside. She studied English and Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside (PhD); Western Michigan University (MFA); and Stanford University (Certificate). Luanne lives with her husband and cats in Arizona along a wash that wildlife use as a thoroughfare.

Thank you for reading! Your reward is a two-fer, something we don’t see very often in our household: Wendy and Raji sleeping (more or less) on the same bench. [Note that Raji likes to stretch out while Wendy makes herself small by curling into ball.]

Wild Cove is governed by a strict matriarchy, one that has rigid rules based on survival. Kat is a rebellious 18-year-old who finds her loyalties tested when she discovers an intruder. The intruder, Marcus, is from another village across the sea and is searching for medicine rumored to be concocted by the women of Wild Cove. Marcus’s wife and son are dying as are many of the villagers, and he is desperate to get the medicine that can save them. Kat keeps Marcus’s presence a secret, against the rules of her elders, risking her own future.

The women in Wild Cove live on a tight schedule, tending to newborns and children, attending classes, doing chores, and participating in ritual gatherings. Kat chafes at being told what to do and when to do it, particularly when it comes to caring for the newborns and children. She does not have maternal instincts and dreads being part of the breeding program. Kat is definitely a character I could relate to, given my own lack of desire to have and raise children as well as my tendency to question authority.

The Women of Wild Cove is told from both Kat’s and Marcus’s points of view which adds to the tension of the novel. You know why Marcus is trying to get the medicine, why he withholds information from Kat when they finally meet. You know why Kat keeps Marcus a secret from her elders, why she wants to trust and help him. You suspect that things will go awry. Trust is betrayed, and the matriarchy is challenged.

The more I learned about the Wild Cove matriarchy, the more I was both thrilled and, at times, appalled by its methods of survival. In this society, men are essentially chattel, and the novel gives rise to so many questions about whether this matriarchy is a fair and just society. It definitely is a society trying to survive in a harsh and unforgiving world and, in that light, its rigidity and rules make a lot of sense.

I see a glimmer of hope in Marcus, in him becoming part of the community. He is the opportunity for trust to be rebuilt.

I was so fascinated by this world that Jennifer created that I asked her about her research.

Marie: The details of the matriarchy that you provide in your novel are rich and intriguing. What research did you do to create the matriarchy in Wild Cove? 

Jennifer: “I did do research concerning rural life and homesteading to include farming, fishing, foraging and sustainability, and how that might look in a future world, especially Newfoundland with its new and warmer climate.”

Marie: I did find the use of men as mere peons and/or breeders disturbing. I understand that throughout history, women have been (and often still are) treated and portrayed no better. What made you decide to have the men at Wild Cove be so subservient to the women? 

Jennifer: “The entire idea for the matriarchal angle of the plot came to me as a “what if” scenario. I made it more possible by using the continental war between the US and Canada as the main cause of high mortality in the male population, as two thirds of the troops that left Newfoundland to fight were men, and many of them didn’t return. This left mostly women in charge for governance. […]

“I myself find it disturbing too, that this could ever actually happen. But I also think there is merit in the matriarchal ideology, that the male species with their “careless stewardship, greed for money and power and propensity for violence and aggression” have mucked things up and these women were trying to fix it, at least on their island.”

Many thanks to Jennifer for answering my questions. I hope this review has piqued your interest in picking up a copy of The Women of Wild Cove. It is available on Amazon in print, ebook and audiobook, and on Bookshop in print, and at Barnes & Noble in print and ebook.

Thank you for reading! As a friendly reminder: I’m participating in the 2026 Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon on April 11, 2026. I’ll be knitting for about 12 hours (just try and stop me). One-hundred percent of the donations will go to Feeding America, No Kid Hungry, World Central Kitchen, and Meals on Wheels.

If you want to support me, here is the link to my team: Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon 2026–Team Marie. Please know that no donation is too small. More of us are feeling the pinch these days so anything you can give towards these worthy causes will be greatly appreciated.

Yup, I’m doing this again! If you were following me last year at this time, you might recall that I participated in this fundraiser for the first time.

This year’s fundraiser started a couple of weeks ago, and it has already raised over $87,000, and we still have a few weeks to go.

Last year we raised OVER $500,000, and 100% of the donations will be shared equally among Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.

The “rules” are very simple: I will knit for about 12 hours on April 11, 2026, buoyed by the support of people like you.

If you wish to donate, here’s the link to my team of one: https://givebutter.com/knitforfood26/team-marie-in-tallahassee/mariebailey

Of course, any cheerleading you can offer will also be greatly appreciated.

I have not yet decided on what I’ll be knitting on April 11, but I’m considering one of Laura Nelkin’s designs. It might well be another one of these:

Or some such variation … Or maybe one or two Red Resistance Hats aka Melt the Ice hats. (The history and pattern for these hats is available here at Needle and Skein.)

I’ve knitted three so far, although I made a mistake in the first one so I’m keeping that for myself.

I will pop up now and then as we get closer to April 11, and I will definitely let you all know what I’ll be knitting as soon as I know.

In the meantime, stay safe, find joy where you can, and be a helper if you can.

Dear [fill in the blank],

This morning–Saturday morning–I learned that President Trump, together with Israel–sent military strikes against Iran. What happened to the “Peace” President? Congress did not authorize these strikes so they are illegal. Also, the American people were not consulted, and we have made clear that we DO NOT want a war in the Middle East. Been there, done that, and nothing to show for it but military and civilian deaths. So there is NO mandate from the American people for this war.

These military strikes are illegal and against the will of the American people. I understand the president is angry that the U.S. Supreme Court (finally) ruled in favor of the U.S. Constitution and against the tariffs. I understand he may be hoping that a war in the Middle East will distract everyone from the Trump-Epstein files. He also might be planning to use a war in the Middle East to justify interfering with the midterm elections.

The American people will not tolerate another endless, useless war in the Middle East that puts our troops at unnecessary danger. We will not support a president who illegally engages our country in a war. We went through that with George W. Bush, and it left a stain on his presidency and a deep, abiding desire in the American people to avoid war in the Middle East. 

During his campaign, President Trump promised no more wars. Since he’s been president, he has only stoked the flames of war. There’s no evidence that he has ended any wars, no matter how much he tries to convince the American people that he has. Instead, he has allowed Russia to make gains in its invasion of Ukraine, threatened Mexico, Canada, Greenland, and now Cuba with unauthorized and illegal invasions and foreign interference, and he illegally attacked Venezuela. His actions have only served to put our country at greater risk of foreign attacks and retaliations.

I demand that you stand up to President Trump, stop these military strikes before we reach the point of no return. Do your job and stand up for the U.S. Constitution.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

We who still believe in the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and the separation of powers have our work cut out for us over the next several months. If you’ve been paying attention, you should have no doubt by now that Trump and his lackeys will do anything–especially anything illegal–to stay in power. I honestly believe, however, that we have the upper hand.

In her February 26, 2026, newsletter, Heather Cox Richardson quoted authoritarian scholar Timothy Snyder:

Trump is “failing at fascism” because “he needs a bloody, popular, victorious war” as an opportunity to “to kill one’s own people and thereby generate a reservoir of meaning that could be used to justify indefinite rule and further oppression, to make the world seem like an endless [struggle] and submission to hierarchy as the only kind of life.”

I take heart that Trump is failing and that the only war popular with the American people is no war. But this reality means that Trump is desperate as are his enablers. Trump is not the only one worried about impeachment if the Democrats take back the House. He is not the only one worried about conviction if the Democrats also take the Senate.

What you can do is find that mode of resistance that enables you to fight back without sacrificing your mental and physical health. For me, it is writing. Writing emails to my Members of Congress, writing postcards to encourage people to vote, writing posts like this one. I attend protests when I can. I support local social safety net agencies like Elder Care Services. I support my local NPR station.

I’m a behind-the-scenes kind of person. You won’t find me trying to meet face-to-face with my Members of Congress or attending Indivisible meetings. I am not a “Great White Hope,” and I don’t want to be one. Rather, I’m happy being one of many millions fighting for the United States of America.

If each of us does what we can, no matter how small an act, together we can make a big difference.

Thank you for reading and for being part of my community.

THIS HAT!

Per the folks at Needle and Skein, a full service yarn shop in Minnesota from whom I got the pattern, this hat has a history:

In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.

I came across the pattern a couple of weeks ago. Since then, Needle and Skein has raked in over $250,000 for this $5 pattern; all proceeds go to immigrant aid agencies to help those impacted by ICE. You can read more about resistance art here.

While I have plenty of red yarn, it’s all dedicated to other projects. So I took an old but beloved knitted shawl of red wool and silk yarn and ripped out the crocheted trim. I thought this would be a nice way to decide if I want to make more.

Since the yarn is a blend of wool and silk, it doesn’t have the elasticity of 100% wool and it’s not “pointy” at the top. I probably should have used a smaller sized needle but it fits nicely as is. Very light, almost like I’m not wearing anything on my head. We have several more cold days ahead for my part of the country so I look forward to wearing it.

And I DO want to make more! But, guess what? Red wool yarn is suddenly hard to come by … LOL. I did find some and ordered a couple of skeins and then we’ll see. Because …

That

I am knitting A LOT. I finally finished a shawl that seemed to take FOREVER but I haven’t blocked it yet so no photos. I’ve enrolled in a workshop to make a sweater in a month (I did this last year so I know it’s doable), and I’m knitting an alpaca watch cap for my hubby. I have LOTS of projects to work on, including spinning and weaving now.

The Other: Writing

So I’m not writing, except for the odd comment. I guess I want to write because my comments can be lengthy unless I rein myself in. But I haven’t worked out a schedule. That also means I haven’t been reading or commenting much because I’ve been … knitting or doing housework which seems to take up more time than one would guess when there’s only two humans and two cats living here. I could do with a housekeeper, ideally someone like Mrs. Hall from All Creatures Great and Small. She’d be good with the cats, too.

I also do get overwhelmed at times by all the subscriptions I have to read, here on WP and now also on Substack. I have unsubscribed to a few which wasn’t easy but my priority is to stay with the writers I’ve been reading the longest. I’ve been following some of you for over ten years, and it troubles me to not keep up.

The Other: Fatigue

There are times when the energy to get through the day, to go about my life as if all was well, is in short supply. I have to constantly remind myself of what I am doing–those things I consider civic duties like calling and writing to my members of Congress, writing postcards encouraging people to vote, supporting aid agencies–and not feel put out because I don’t have the social capital or the economic capital to bring about the change we need now.

Interestingly, my husband and I have thrown ourselves into our projects–me with my crafty stuff, Greg with his astronomy and photography–in the attempt to minimize our exposure to the tsunami of daily bad news. And yet, we are often tired.

The Other: Cats

Cats all day, every day.

This time of year, when it’s chilly and we like a little extra warmth, Greg has been missing Maxine and Junior who were great, if at times demanding, lap kitties.

Raji is an equal opportunity lap sitter. In the evening, when we are enjoying “happy hour” on the loveseat, he prefers Greg’s lap. Later, when we are on the couch watching TV, he prefers my lap. Wendy, at this time, will only deign to get close but not too close.

Thank you for reading! Live in hope, be kind, and do no more than what you can.