True Life: I Married a Doomsday Prepper

In high school I had an algebra teacher who was really good at what she did. She taught math methodically, with lots of examples, and I learned a lot in her classes. She has since retired, but I recently came upon her blog where she has been sharing a little bit of her writing since she retired from teaching and talking about her writing process. I know, I said she taught algebra, but she’s also a writer. She published a book before I ever had her in class called Potter’s Field. I read it a few years ago and very much enjoyed it. I can see the same attention to detail in her writing that I saw in her math teaching. In one of her blog posts, she mentioned a book that was almost finished–High Desert Poem–about a girl who accepts a marriage proposal only to find out after the wedding that her new husband is a doomsday prepper. I had to know what happened next.

Newlywed Alyssa, who wanted so badly to be loved like in a true romance novel, with poems and sweet gestures, accepts a hasty and direct marriage proposal from Lars Stedle. With a desire to be cared for and to be different from her own mother, she accepts Stedle’s proposal. But things take a quick turn; she has to learn to live underground, making do with whatever she can scavenge and working long hours finding and repurposing junk. It’s hard enough to learn to love and live with someone when you have all the modern comforts money can buy, but living in a trailer buried underground?! Throughout the book, I was on the edge of my seat trying to find out what would happen. Would they stay together? Is Alyssa safe? What unimaginable survivalist hardship will she face next?

I’m not going to answer any of those questions for you, but I recommend you try it out for yourself. The plot line is something new and refreshing, and the writing is superb. It’s a fairly quick read, and it’s really inexpensive, free even, if you’re an Amazon Prime member. And if you like it, there’s a lot of other great stuff available.

To buy High Desert Poem, either click on the cover above or go here. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!