“Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs, the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what.” ― Maya Angelou
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People come in and out of our lives every day. Some remain with us for short periods of time, others remain forever, sometimes becoming like family. Often we lose sight of how and why it happens until we find ourselves on a path we didn’t see coming — a moment destined to factor into the rest of our lives and those of the ones we love.
In her new book Kate Meader, Maine author Deborah Gould paints a loving story about a family of people pushed away from a society that has deemed them unfit. Some are even forgotten by their birth families. It takes place in Gardiner, Maine — specifically the Almshouse in 1900.
Within this narrative of real people working and living inside the poorhouse are the realities of non-conformity, tentative pursuits and acceptance. It is about second chances amidst the cruelty of the human condition. In the end it is the empathy and love for those who need it most that provides a setting for what ultimately is a love story between two people.
Catherine (Kate) Ellen Meader moves from one menial job to another until she lands a job as the cook at the poorhouse in Gardiner. Having lost her six-year-old son to disease and later her husband after he returns home from the war, Kate Meader moves from the loss of her family to finding another.
She finds her purpose among these supposed “misfits” of society. While seeing to their needs she soothes her own, and in turn they give back. They give her respect, admiration and in a sense the love of family she has been missing.
Quickly a routine is established of meal preparations, cleaning and laundry. Each resident has their own responsibilities, such as tending to chickens and horses or working menial jobs for the town. All now contribute to the place that has taken them in and that they call home. Ultimately, some residents depart through death, yet still there are plenty of others who can take their place. It is an uncomfortable, inevitable routine.
And then Nicholas Dale arrives. Everything changes that moment for the rest of the residents’ lives. The relationship of Kate and Nicholas becomes the single thread that will see some doors close and others open. This is life and, as Gould has shown us before in her other works, life can be cruel and beautiful at the same time.
Gould is at her best when using place as a central character. While real people from its past are given life and depth, the past of the place resonates throughout the story. Gould has used this same approach in her two previous historical novels, The Eastern: The Early Years, a Maine Literary Award finalist and The Eastern; Book Two, The Later Years. Gould was awarded the Maine Literary Award for short fiction in 2014.
Her meticulous research and genealogical study are made apparent by the flow of the narrative. These people feel genuine because they were real people and contribute to the depth of the story. In her “Afterword” Gould provides short biographical sketches of each of the residents, including the story’s two protagonists.
The day-to-day life in the growing town of Gardiner is told by way of snippets of news garnered from the local newspaper of that time, The Reporter-Journal. Its impact on the residents offers some comic relief during tumultuous times, and the news snippets are an inventive and effective approach by Gould.
Reading the “news of the day” is a routine for the residents after the dinner dishes are cleaned and put away. The small group gathers around the fire with popcorn in hand to listen as excerpts from the day’s news are read. It offers bits of local news, gossip and the latest fashions, plus “what is in store” for the future. Will the automobile replace the horse? The residents loudly think not. “Impossible” they all agree.
Kate Meader is a finely crafted story of what others do within the confines of personal comfort, self-reliance, and hard truth: survival amidst change. It is also a beautiful story of a love found between two people in a most unusual place surrounded by a most unusual newfound family. I found it a joy to read.
Kate Meader: A Novel
By Deborah Gould
Maine Authors Publishing, 2023, hardcover $29.95