About the Book
Abbie Rose Stone's acquired wisdom runs deep, and so do her scars. She has successfully navigated the shoals of a long marriage, infertility, challenging children, and a career. Now it's her turn to realize her dream: producing hard apple cider along the northern shores of Lake Michigan that she loves. She manages to resist new versions of the old pull of family dynamics that threaten to derail her plan-but nothing can protect her from the shock a lovely young stranger delivers when she exposes a long-held secret. In the wake of this revelation, Abbie must overcome circumstances that severely test her self-determination, her loyalties, and her understanding of what constitutes true family.
About the Author :
Barbara Stark-Nemon is the award-winning author of short stories, essays, the historical novel Even in Darkness, and the contemporary novel Hard Cider. Her historical novel Isabela’s Way will be published in September 2025. Barbara lives, writes, swims, cycles, and does fiber art in Ann Arbor and Northport, MI.
Review :
2019 IPPY Silver Medal Winner in Popular Fiction
2019 Best Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Literary
2019 International Book Awards, Finalist, Fiction: Literary
2019 Foreword Reviews Finalist in Adult Fiction—General
2019 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist
2018 Grand Prize in Chanticleer Book Awards: Somerset Award for Contemporary & Literary Novel
“The novel soars with passages about upper Michigan’s unique beauty . . . Hard Cider is a story about following a dream.”—Foreword Reviews
“In this moving, compelling novel, a character who makes cider from a variety of different apples says ‘I can’t help but feel that there’s some magic in the mixing.’ Barbara Stark-Nemon reminds us this is true for families, too. Through its exploration of the many forms family can take and the possibility of new beginnings in midlife, Hard Cider is easy to love.”—Gayle Brandies, author, poet, and essayist
“In this absorbing and thoughtful novel, the alchemy of turning apples into hard cider becomes a potent metaphor for the way in which time blends and distills the characters into a family. With grace and compassion, Stark-Nemon examines the forging of relationships under the pressure of shocking revelations. A deep valuing of connection to land, work, and loved ones emerges from this beautifully written story.”—Jessica Levine, author of The Geometry of Love and Nothing Forgotten
“Hard Cider is a coming-of-age story for women of a ‘certain age’ finding their own paths when the kids are raised, unlocking their own dreams. Barbara Stark-Nemon woos her readers to fall in love, but not with a romantic notion of idealized marriage and family. Instead, we are immersed in the sensual details of her glorious Michigan landscape, where we fall in love with the natural world she so vividly paints.”—Betsy Graziani Fasbinder, author of Fire and Water and Filling Her Shoes: A Memoir of an Inherited Family
“I just flew through Hard Cider. Well written, with loving descriptions of northern Michigan, this is the story of Abbie Rose Stone, who strikes out on her own to create a cider business. She meets an intriguing young woman with secrets that could blow Abbie's cherished family apart-or enrich it. Abbie, as the true center of her family, navigates the subtle challenges of her loved ones, giving credit to women who hold their families together by sheer goodwill and small and large acts of love. A book that celebrates family.”—Caitlin Hicks, author of Reader’s Favorite and iBooks Best New Fiction pick A Theory of Expanded Love
“Hard Cider is magical in its rootedness even as it explores the way we seek home and community and the lives of our dreams.”—Andi Cumbo-Floyd, author of The Slaves Have Names: Ancestors of my Home, Steele Secrets, and Love Letters to Writers: Encouragement, Accountability, and Truth-Telling
“Hard Cider is the intriguing story of a strong woman struggling with the psychological fallout of infertility decades after achieving motherhood. Just as she is opening a new chapter in her life by beginning a business of her own, a seemingly harmless encounter leads to a revelation that threatens her hard-won confidence and the cohesion of her family. The reader follows with interest this vividly told story of a woman fighting to regain her bearings, master a major personal challenge, and protect her already-challenged family.”—Monica Starkman, MD, Psychiatrist, University of Michigan Medical School, author of End of Miracles, and columnist for Psychology Today
“In Hard Cider, we are dropped immediately into a story-and a family-that we are eager to know. Abbie's family and other characters are well drawn and full of surprises. I loved getting to know them and found it easy to empathize with the struggles and challenges that arise with the sons. We see how history is always coming to tap us on the shoulder, and we have to find ways to cope with it. As the deeper emotional story started unraveling, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.”—Linda Joy Myers, president of the National Association of Memoir Writers and author of Songs of the Plains
“A lyrically told, powerful story of a middle-aged woman who has the courage to pursue a long-held dream on her own terms while still grappling with the emotional push-pull of mothering adult children whose lives and dreams are not hers to control.”—Jenni Ogden, author of A Drop in the Ocean
“Hard Cider is a fabulous novel about starting a business, taking on challenges, and building a family. The real treat was spending time with protagonist Abbie Rose. Forced to reckon with potentially shattering news, she is human to the core. I so enjoyed being on this ride with her, watching her gain acceptance and eventually find grace. Not just a great story, this is a beautiful example of how to live.”—Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, author of Eden
“A beautifully written novel that will make Stark-Nemon your next one-click author!”—Nicole Waggoner, author of Center Ring and The Act
“This book pulled me in like a magnet and kept me in don’t-want-to-put-it-down mode until the last page.”—BRICK Magazine
