Customer Reviews

Mountain Shadows: An Adirondack Novel of Courage, Danger, and Love

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4 star:		(1)
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In the beginning of this outstanding read we are confronted by a rescue of a young man stranded and half dead in the snow. Joe Devlin is on a journey, one driven by love for his wife Alice, who is suffering from tuberculosis. Joe is a simple, honest man, but also a poor man, who is now faced with the cost of the 'cure' that Alice must receive at Lake Placid, New York, if he ever hopes to have her well again.

We are taken along the journey of Alice and Joe and their struggle to play the hand that life has dealt them. Joe soon begins to do things he never thought he would, both in his work and in his personal life and Alice if faced with hard decisions of the heart. Neither life will ever be the same.

The author does an exceptional job of bringing to life the immense hardships that patients and their families endured from tuberculosis during the 1920's. Her description of Lake Placid and the era bring you directly into the storyline as your heart merges with the well defined characters of her work. This is more than a story; it is a walk into part of America's past and the people who lived it. A story that shows love indeed has no end, nor obstacles that it cannot cross. Recommended.
Great job! Great read!

Shirley Johnson
Senior Reviewer
MidWest Book Review

"Mountain Shadows" is a delightful read. I am impressed by the sensitive and often dramatic treatment of historic detail. Even those of us who thought we knew a lot about the unique story of Saranac Lake, during the half century that we were the premier place in the Western Hemisphere for the treatment and cure of tuberculosis, found new insight and understanding in the telling of a very personal story. The reader learns of the shifting emotions of patients as they see friends improve and return home, and others pass away and leave in coffins at nightfall. We see the strains on family life when one member is sent to Saranac Lake for the cure - some families writing, visiting, sending packages, others distancing themselves from the feared contagion. The supportive and encouraging attitude of residents and caregivers in Saranac Lake toward the thousands of tuberculosis patients who stayed here comes through as well, the positive attitude that surely helped many to survive the "White Plague." "Mountain Shadows" tells a story that is relevant and inspiring today as many struggle with serious illness or strive to provide for the emotional and physical support of loved ones who are ill.

This historically-accurate novel is a wonderful exploration of both the natural and cultural environment of the Lake Placid/Saranac Lake area of New York's Adirondacks during the 1920's. The enjoyable story of a couple that is introduced to the region by necessity also provides a glimpse into the area's rich heritage, and illustrates to those of us that live in the Adirondacks that some aspects of that time period remain the same today.

Brooks presents a well-researched description of Saranac Lake's tuberculosis cure cottages and the affluent nature of Lake Placid during prohibition, from the working-class perspective of a young man who finds himself immersed in the conflicting settings of both.

In its exploration of the cure cottages, the book provides an accurate account of this very important time period in Saranac Lake's history, and it showcases many aspects of the High Peaks of the Adirondacks in a different era. However, to those of us lucky enough to live there, it is clear that some characteristics of the mountains in the story haven't changed much.

As the main character makes his way to Lake Placid on foot after his Model T breaks down less than 100 miles away, the reader is taken to a time when the winter made what is now a short drive into an epic journey. In the book, the beautiful, yet remote wilderness is contrasted by the warmth and hospitality of the region's inhabitants.

Today's technology allows easy travel through the mountains; a great advancement from the impassable winter roadways of the prohibition era. But the residents of the region still abide by the same conventions with respect of hospitality as the welcoming rural folks in the book. Though eighty years have passed since the time in which this story is set, that remote wilderness is still there, forever wild, to be enjoyed by visitors and residents alike. And, although the development of antibiotics eliminated the need for the tuberculosis cure cottages, visitors continue to travel to the region seeking a different kind of cure. Today, the High Peaks region blends a rich Olympic history, countless outdoor recreational opportunities, and the chance to get away from it all.

The historic significance of the tuberculosis cure, in the context of such a well-written, heartwarming story, would translate beautifully onscreen, allowing a much larger audience to learn about this important part of our region's past. And, the largely unchanged geographic surroundings here in the Adirondacks would make a spectacular backdrop for a project of that nature. As the President of the Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, I am pleased to have had the opportunity to read and endorse this book as a wonderful resource that enhances our efforts to promote the heritage of our region.

We just got back from a wonderful "Mom's weekend" in Lake Placid. All 12 of us had read the book for bookgroup and just loved it. Coming up to Lake Placid and Saranac Lake brought out all of the questions and interests we had had from reading the book. After all, a five hour car ride with 6 Moms per car can bring about a lot of discussion. One of our highlights of our weekend was actually discussing the book with Patricia Brooks. What an honor it was to hear about how she so thoroughly researched all the aspects for the book. Our curiosity was so high that after our discussion we actually drove around Saranac Lake and found Helen Hill and while in Lake Placid drove past where Joe worked at the Lake Placid Club. Mountain Shadows was a wonderful read and I highly recommend it. It brought about more discussion than any book we have read.

It is with considerable creativity and skill that the author has woven a poignant love story into the tapestry of life in the Adirondack Mountains in the 1920's. At that time Saranac Lake became a place where patients with tuberculosis could seek the benefits of the "rest cure," and the nearby Lake Placid Club provided employment for those seeking to serve vacationing families, who themselves wanted not even indirect contact with "consumptives." Into this world moves Alice, recently married but weakened severely by TB, to be followed by her devoted husband, Joe, who finds work as a mechanic at the Lake Placid Club. The job permits him to be near Alice as long as nobody knows he has a "consumptive" wife, but it doesn't pay enough for her Saranac Lake "curing" cottage; he needs to earn more. The 1920's was also the period of Prohibition, which spawned lucrative, but risky, "boot-legging" from the Canadian border. With his skill as a mechanic, Joe gets drawn into servicing cars with hidden compartments, cars that are speedy enough to outrun the troopers. Joe ends up in a job that must be hidden from others in order to support a consumptive wife whose existence must also be hidden. It is an engaging account, a tragedy in life, but a triumph in love.

"Mountain Shadows" is a bittersweet story of true love and endurance.

Joe Devlin's unselfish love for his tuberculosis stricken wife, Alice, first sends him trekking through the snow covered Adirondacks on frost-bitten feet to reach Saranac, New York. She has been sent to this cold and refreshing clime to seek the "rest cure" prescribed for T.B. patients in one of the areas' curing cottages. Later, in order to pay her continuing medical expenses, Joe is forced into a life of illegally running bootlegged liquor from Canada during the prohibition era of the 1920s.

The descriptions of the old-fashioned cures for tubercular patients are fascinating and the characters are all exceedingly well-drawn. The beauty of the surrounding countryside comes alive in this well-written and heart wrenching novel. I loved the book and will certainly give it a second read.

A Fantastic Story!!! When I finished the book the characters dominated my thoughts for many days. I recommend it to anyone willing to laugh and cry. You won't put it down.

Having just read Mountain Shadows and being the principal of Lake Placid Middle/High School, all I have to say is "Wow! What a Book!" I look forward to having Brooks speak at a dinner meeting of our Adirondack Book Club, a group of male community leaders. In the past, we have heard from Russell Banks and Brian Mann. Brooks will also speak to several classes of history students, where Mountain Shadows is assigned reading.

I Loved the Book - I am buying copies for Christmas gifts for all my family. A MUST Read Selection!