AND THE LIGHT STRIKES HOME IBD

Sinopse

And the Light Strikes Home is the memoir of a marriage, the almost-60 year union between Ned Tranel and Virginia Holmberg, an alliance that began as a blind date on Friday, the 13th of May, 1955 and continued until NedâÇÖs death on April 14, 2016.ááááááááááááIf the measure of a marriage is longevity, this is the story of a successful union, elusive moments of happiness that go by in a blink and often are recognized only in hindsight.áBut it is also the story of misunderstanding, loneliness, disagreement, discouragement, doubt--both spouses wondering how they could have done better, been more understanding, patient, thoughtful, loving.áUltimately, it is a story of Trying.áTrying and failing and Trying again.áááááááááááááThe narrative opens in the final semester of VirginiaâÇÖs senior year at Clarke, DubuqueâÇÖs Catholic college for women. She is engaged to a former high school classmate, an Army private stationed in Germany. The senior prom is approaching.áShe wants to attend, but has no one to âÇÖtake her,âÇÖ as people said then, as if she were an umbrella.áA friend recommends a âÇÖnice guyâÇÖ in his final year at Loras, DubuqueâÇÖs Catholic college for men, a smart, unsophisticated guy who spent the past three years in a dorm designated for young men whoâÇÖve expressed interest in becoming a priest.ááááááááááááA nice guy named Ned, six feet tall, dark hair, studious brown eyes, neither timid nor ill-at-ease, instead a kid out for recess, compensating for musical deficits by stepping to the beat of his own drummer. At eveningâÇÖs end, undaunted by the engagement ring on VirginiaâÇÖs left hand, he kisses her good night, generously and with fervor. She kisses him back.áAnd their story begins. ááVirginia Tranel was born and raised in Dubuque, Iowa, and graduated from Clarke College with a degree in English and Spanish.áIn January, 1957, she married Ned Tranel and moved west, settling in Montana.áHer essays have appeared in magazines and anthologies, including the Notre Dame Press anthology of best essays, Family.áHer first book, Ten Circles Upon the Pond, a collection of essays on child rearing and family, was published by Knopf in 2003.áTranelâÇÖs second book, Benita: Prey for Him, ápublished in 2010 by 1st World, ádescribes a classmateâÇÖs átwenty-year entanglement with a Catholic priest. áIn her current book, And the Light Strikes Home,áTranel tells the story of two individuals trying to assert their individuality while remaining committed to the promise of their union in marriage.áá