A Forty Year Kiss

Butler (Shotgun Lovesongs) delivers the story of Charlie and Vivian, two people in their 60s who reconnect after a failed marriage in their 20s. Charlie is recently retired and a three-time divorcé who finds himself thinking more and more about his first wife, whom he considers to be his only true love. He messages her on Facebook, and the two reconnect. The novel opens with Charlie and Vivian’s first meeting in more than 40 years, at a bar in Chippewa Falls, WI. Although Charlie dreams of a whirlwind romance, Vivian is hesitant and still bearing the wounds of their marriage, from young Charlie’s anger management problems and alcohol-use disorder. But the years have changed them both. This is the story of two people working to heal old wounds to become better, both for themselves and for their blooming relationship.