End of the Race

"End of the Race" steals readers away to the shores of Traverse Bay, Michigan. Olympic swimming hopeful, Annika Wolfson is training for the China Olympic team when Brian, her husband and coach, takes off on a sailing trip and vanishes. Annika, distraught, bewildered and still grieving a miscarriage, searches past and present for an explanation. The Olympic training schedule staring from the wall only magnifies his absence. Why would Brian abandon her, their six year old daughter, and the race for the Gold that was their life? Is he alive?

"End of the Race" steals readers away to the shores of Traverse Bay, Michigan. Olympic swimming hopeful, Annika Wolfson is training for the China Olympic team when Brian, her husband and coach, takes off on a sailing trip and vanishes. Annika, bewildered and still grieving from the miscarriage of their second child, searches past and present for an explanation. Distraught, the Olympic qualifications loom. But how can she reach her pinnacle of performance with desperate questions plaguing her? Is he dead, or did he leave? Why would he abandon her and their six year old daughter? Her search reveals the impulsive, determined Brian she has known since childhood and his suspicious sail-companions who arrived home without him, but carry her no further—until a family explosion uncovers the missing piece and brings their race to a shocking end that recasts Annika's life forever.

"End of the Race" is Judith Kirscht's sixth novel of contemporary fiction focusing on stories of ordinary Americans coping with the challenges and upheavals of the last sixty years. Originally from Chicago, she raised her family in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She received her BA from the University of Chicago and her MA and MFA from the University of Michigan. She then taught writing there and at the University of California, Santa Barbara before moving to Washington State to devote herself to writing fiction. Her novels have won recognition, beginning with the first, "Nowhere Else to go," which won a Hopwood Award from the University of Michigan, followed by "Home Fries," which was a finalist for the Readers Favorite general fiction award and the Nancy Pearl Award given by the Pacific Northwest Writing Association for the best novel of 2014. "The Camera's Eye" was a finalist for the William Faulkner Wisdom Award and was among the 100 "Honored Books" by Shelf Unbound Indie Contest "Home Fries," "Hawkins Lane," "The Camera's Eye," and "End of the Race" were all finalists for Chanticleer Reviews' Somerset Award in Contemporary Fiction.