Description:
Based upon the World War II diaries of the real Philip Zumwalt, Swanson's debut historical romance novel is a bittersweet tale of the transcendent power of love...
Brief description: Dr. Barry Swanson is an assistant professor emeritus from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Illinois Wesleyan University and a master's degree in educational administration from Western Illinois University. He has served as president of the Carl Sandburg Historic Site Association and was a founding member of the Galesburg Public Art Commission. Barry has published various articles and poetry for regional publications, coauthored a textbook for a course in educational studies, and currently writes a column for a local newspaper in his hometown of Galesburg, Illinois. He is in the process of writing his second novel. Preceding his professorship at Knox, he served in the United States Army, was an English teacher, basketball coach, and school administrator. He also served as a full-time lecturer in the College of Education at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where he earned his Doctor of Education degree in 2001. Barry and his wife, Gail, reside on Lake Norman in North Carolina. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Review Quotes:
"Still Points is a novel of spectacular, untarnished beauty. A lovely, lyrical book that is both profound and honest, entertaining and real. Inspired by a true story, Swanson's literary debut is heartfelt, heartbreaking, and utterly heart-filling."
-Jennifer Niven, #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places
"Barry Swanson's immersive debut is at once a tender romance, an insightful coming-of-age story, and an unflinching look at the realities of war. Swanson grabs the reader from the first page and keeps them in his thrall as he brings the characters and settings to vivid life. Both uplifting and heartbreaking, Still Points is a book you won't soon forget."
-Kathleen Barber, author of Truth Be Told (now an Apple TV+ series) and Follow Me
"In 1943, Philip Zumwalt, a radio gunner in the Army Air Corps, gazes up at the New Guinea sky, 'long(ing) for El or for anyone who love(s) him.' Based on the author's family history, this heartbreaking and compelling novel has the energy and passion of a story that must be told. It is a sweeping tale of love and war, a novel that shines a light on the 'still point' at the heart of all human longing."
-Abigail DeWitt, author of News of Our Loved Ones
"Barry Swanson's Still Points was inspired by diaries and papers left behind by his wife's Uncle Philip, a poet and musician who served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Swanson had promised to 'make something' of the story he was given. In fact, he did much more than that. He created totally engaging characters who face daunting battles, both in war and of the heart. This large, captivating tale illuminates how love and war-in very different ways-change everything. Still Points is heartbreaking. And, at the same time, it is filled with the energy of life."
-Judy Goldman, author of Together: A Memoir of a Marriage and a Medical Mishap