Into the Wilderness: A Novel

By: Deborah Lee Luskin

Published by Sibylline Digital First, 2026-04-10

Could there be two people more different? It’s 1964, and Rose Mayer is recently widowed, a Democrat, and Jewish. When she meets Percy Mendell, a born and bred Vermonter who has never married and never voted for a Democrat, they clash before a surprising romance springs up. At age 64, they both must employ their humor, wit and compassion to even consider the other. Set against the backdrop of Vermont’s changing season and shifting political landscape, Into the Wilderness is both a love story and a testament to the surprising flexibility of the human heart.<br/><br/>Awarded the IPPY Gold Medal for Regional Fiction<br/><br/>About the Author<br/><br/>DEBORAH LEE LUSKIN moved from New York City to Vermont in 1984 to write, garden, keep bees, and raise daughters. She has been an editorial columnist, radio commentator, pen-for-hire, and blogger. Luskin also enjoyed a long career as an educator. Engaged in civic life, Luskin practiced restorative justice as a volunteer at the Brattleboro Community Justice Center and served as the elected Town Moderator in Newfane, Vermont. She holds a PhD English Literature, the obvious training for becoming a homesteader, deer-hunter, and writer. Reviving Artemis: The Making of a Huntress, her memoir, tells the story of coming-of-age at sixty and finding her place in the natural world.<br/><br/>Praise for Into the Wilderness<br/>“The book is a complex love letter to Vermont.”<br/>—The Commons, Windham County’s Independent Weekly<br/><br/>“Into the Wilderness is a fiercely intelligent love story.”<br/>—The Rutland Herald<br/>“Deborah Lee Luskin weaves together an enchanting tale of solitude, friendship and romance in her novel, Into the Wilderness.”<br/>—The Jewish Advocate