Katy Bowman

I picked up this book when I was going through a rough time a couple of weeks ago and was craving something familiar. Something comforting. I used to love the Maisie Dobbs books. I found the first one a long time ago when I was working at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina. I fell in love with the cover, a woman in a cloche hat, drawn simply. I wanted immediately to know who she was.

It felt good to revisit this one. The subject matter isn't easy, having to do with mental illness, the aftermath of war, and the way we humans use each other sometimes to further our own interests. But I love the character of Maisie Dobbs. She's smart, she feels things deeply, she takes care of her people. She seems to like those in between spaces, too, spaces where she can keep one foot in one world and the other in another world entirely. I think I have enjoyed these books about her so much because there are parts of her that are deeply familiar.