Knowing Place

When Beatrice is stranded in Stockholm after her Swedish boyfriend dumps her, she refuses to admit defeat and return stateside. She finds a job as a home helper for elderly Swedes and soon discovers that one of her clients is a victim of abuse. Will she be able to rescue the victim, or be caught in a crossfire of drug deals and family secrets? Set in the Stockholm of the early 1970s, Knowing Place tells the story of a spirited young American struggling to understand her surroundings, and herself, with the help of political refugees from Chile and the natives who know Sweden best: elderly people.

When Beatrice is stranded in Stockholm after her Swedish boyfriend dumps her, she refuses to admit defeat and return stateside. She finds a job as a home helper for elderly Swedes and soon discovers that one of her clients is a victim of abuse. Will she be able to rescue the victim, or be caught in a crossfire of drug deals and family secrets? Set in the Stockholm of the early 1970s, Knowing Place tells the story of a spirited young American struggling to understand her surroundings, and herself, with the help of political refugees from Chile and the natives who know Sweden best: elderly people.

Martha Gale grew up in Alaska and upstate New York. She moved to Sweden in the seventies as a love hostage to a Brazilian man. She has worked as a nurse’s aide, physical therapist and English teacher. Like Beatrice, the protagonist of Knowing Place, she learned about Sweden and Swedish culture through her work with old people. She now does research in gerontology (under the name Marti G. Parker) at the Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University.