Heartfelt story explores immigration and family separation
Cleveland, OH – Award-winning author Joseph Bauer is releasing a new novel that poignantly explores the complexities of immigration and the effect current policies have on personal and family relationships. In “Sailing for Grace” (September 15, 2024, Running Wild Press), a man’s promise to his dying wife leads him into uncharted waters as he confronts the realities of immigration at the US-Mexico border.
“Sailing for Grace” follows Will Goodbow, a wealthy businessman who makes a promise to his late wife, Grace, to help reunite migrant children separated from their parents at the border. Despite his lack of expertise in immigration matters, Will feels compelled to fulfill his promise to Grace, leading him to El Paso where he seeks to understand the situation at the US-Mexico border.
Through encounters with aid workers, border patrol officers, and migrants themselves, Will navigates the complexities of the immigration system and grapples with the moral dilemmas surrounding family separation and asylum. As he delves deeper into the issue, Will confronts the harsh realities faced by migrants and the challenges of implementing meaningful change in a broken system, while also grieving the death of his wife. Dive into the depths of human resilience and sacrifice with “Sailing for Grace”, a powerful story of love, loyalty, and the unwavering pursuit of justice in the face of adversity.
“Sailing for Grace”
Joseph Bauer | September 15, 2024 | Running Wild Press | Contemporary Fiction
Paperback | 978-1960018519 | $19.99
Praise for Joseph Bauer’s books
“…believable, complex, well-developed, interesting characters, at least a few of whom I can identify with in one way or another, and a compelling story that kept me wanting to keep turning those pages — and also not wanting it to end.”
— Goodreads reviewer for “The Accidental Patriot” by Joseph Bauer
“Part thriller, part timely topics, intriguingly smart characters all combine in a tale oh so layered and cleverly spun.”
— Amazon reviewer for “The Patriot’s Angels” by Joseph Bauer
“Intelligent, Informed, Imaginative. This author keeps his readers so involved in the story it becomes real even knowing it is fiction.”
— Amazon reviewer for “Too True to Be Good”
“…Bauer has a fascinating style… Keeps you engaged constantly.”
— Amazon reviewer for “Too True to Be Good”
“Another ‘not put downable; book from this terrific author.”
— Amazon reviewer for “Too True to Be Good”
Joseph Bauer was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. An honors student in literature, he was editor-in-chief of his college newspaper at the University of Toledo. He worked as an international corporate lawyer for 30 years, starting his career with the large firm Jones Day, and completing it as the chief legal officer of a NYSE traded global company, The Lubrizol Corporation. Always wanting to be an author, he retired early and has been writing novels ever since from his homes in Ann Arbor, Cleveland, and Charleston, SC.. His first three novels, “The Accidental Patriot”, “The Patriot’s Angels” and “Too True To Be Good” (all acclaimed for their literary quality, pace, and suspense) were published in 2020, 2021 and 2023. After his submission of the draft of “Sailing For Grace” was awarded 1st Prize at the 2022 annual Atlanta Writers Conference, he signed with Running Wild Press for the publication of Sailing For Grace and the republication of his first 3 novels. Mr. Bauer is married and has 3 adult daughters whom he raised in Shaker Heights, OH. He is an avid fly fisherman and fly tyer. Find out more about him at his website.
Follow Joseph Bauer on social media:
Facebook: @JosephBauerNovelist
In an interview, Joseph Bauer can discuss:
- How the current political climate, particularly the immigration crisis, effects our society
- How personal relationships can be strained due to external political pressures and systemic injustices
- How having differing political views can affect relationships, particularly a marriage
- His motivation behind writing this novel and his writing process
- His writing style, how he manages to write in a way that allows for balanced pacing, a story that unfolds gradually and deep character development
An Interview with Joseph Bauer
1. What motivated you to write “Sailing for Grace”?
I wanted to write a story about marriage, how in many loving and successful marriages, there can be enduring disagreement. And I wanted to wrap it around a suspenseful plot that related to a timely, but enduring social issue.
2. You start at the end of the plot with this book. Can you tell us what your writing process looks like and how you create such balanced pacing and deep character development?
It made sense to me to start at the ending, knowing that I could then take any detours that came to me while writing the story, so long as I returned to a path toward that ending.
3. What challenges did you face in representing the separation of families, and how did you overcome them in your writing?
Well, I certainly did not want to present myself or my narrator as an expert on Central American family strife and danger. I am not trying, as a white male, to occupy the shoes and suffering of a Honduran asylum seeker. I am trying, as a white male author, to tell the story of an old white widower who gets in over his head on a social and political issue because he loved his wife and felt he owed it to her to commit himself when she wanted, at life’s end for her, to commit.
4. How do you see your novel contributing to the ongoing conversation about immigration policies in the current political landscape?
Asylum is only one (some would say comparatively minor) aspect of immigration. But I believe much of the public confuses asylum seekers with the people who are trying to enter illegally. No one who seeks asylum in our country, from wherever they come or wherever they enter the US, is acting illegally. They are acting legally, under laws that have been on the books for a very long time.
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