Lucy Belmont
The Story of
“My name is Lucy Belmont and I’m ninety-seven years old. I’ve been dead for three days, but nobody’s noticed yet. I’ve lived in this house almost all my life, on the corner of Green River Road and Morgan Avenue in Evansville, Indiana. Is anyone there?”
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“Luisella Traversi Guerra is a remarkable human being. Her story and her achievements are a testament to her creativity. Now we find in her charming, beautifully written fiction another indication of the depth of her imagination, her vision of life, and her invitation to see the world anew.”.
Alfonso Montuori – professor, California Institute of Integral Studies and founder, Center for Creative Futures.
“Luisella is an artist, a writer, and a manager with highly ethical values, for she also led and successfully implemented an enlightened management philosophy in her husband’s company after his death. A couple of decades ago, Luisella wrote a novel during her protracted stay in Evansville, Indiana. This lovely novel will delight its readers for its fresh look of American life through the eyes and heart of a keen Italian observer.”
Federico Faggin – author of Silicon: From the Invention of the Microprocessor to the New Science of Consciousness
Overview
This touching and nostalgic novel opens with the words of the protagonist, Lucy Belmont. Lucy lies dead in her in her rocker, but her mind is alive and well! Is she really dead after all or will someone come and save her? Suspended in the mysterious void between life and death Lucy’s voice guides us through her 97 years of existence in Evansville, Indiana, watching its transformation from cornfields to concrete metropolis. Her vivacious spirit, dry humor, and dogged perseverance animate this intriguing multigenerational story. Travelling back and forth through time you will revisit her childhood in the lush Indiana countryside of the early 1900s, then follow her as she builds a home in her beloved Evansville.
As she unfolds her story, we hear her tall tales, family drama, and life lessons to lead a rewarding existence. Over the decades we watch Lucy form her own very practical and spiritual perspective on a vast range of current topics – divorce, illness, recession, war, the loss of a child, homosexuality, abortion, infidelity and suicide. Her ruminating monologue gradually sediments into pearls of wisdom for any occasion – how to make a marriage last, how to age gracefully both in mind and body, and how to discover your unique destiny. Lucy is a concise problem solver and goes to the root of what works and what does not. She has the courage to ask hard, unfashionable questions, like whether religion still has a place in life today, and provide a firm answer. This is a book that soothes the soul whether you are already on the right path or still finding your way. Rather than a self-help or religious text, this cozy Christion novel works like a puncture repair kit for battered spirits facing the quintessential problems of modern life.
This book is ideal for fans of sensitive, meditative fiction full of anecdotes and gentle reflections on the recent and distant past, aimed at helping to collocate spirituality in a wide variety of everyday contexts. It also provides an overview of the myriad charms of Evansville, Saint Wendell, New Harmony and Posey County, as it extensively describes real historic locations and attractions which may still be visited today, such as the Willard Public Library, (a masterpiece of Victorian architecture), the fascinating town of Historic New Harmony, or the enigmatic Angel Mounds, an ancient archaeological site of the Native Mississippian culture where thousands recently gathered to watch the total eclipse.
