BOOK CLUB: "Refuge" by David R. Schoorens

What happens if democracy falls?

David’s debut novel, published in 2022, Refuge: A Novel of Lost Democracy, is a military and political thriller with a large measure of the dystopian genre. Think of Refuge as political horror where the monsters are real. The kind of horror that can happen. That is happening.

The story imagines American democracy’s descent into authoritarianism, focusing on the consequences facing ordinary people, Americans and Canadians, in Eastport, Maine, and Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada.

Democracy in America wasn’t lost to invasion or foreign terrorist attacks. Nor to a global cataclysm or military coup or an economic collapse.

Democracy fell because it was our choice. An election was all that was needed. Gerrymandered districts. Laws suppressing the vote. Disinformation and lies. Promises of former glory. Apathy and ignorance. Political violence and above all, fear.

The story begins in Saint Andrews, where American dissidents hope to start a new life. Mike and Debbie Whynot, both retired U.S. Air Force officers and leaders of their fellow expatriates, face threats from the new far-right U.S. government. They will pay dearly for their continued fight for democracy.

Across the Saint Croix River in nearby in Eastport, a U.S. Coast Guard officer faces the moral dilemma of continued service to the nation under an authoritarian government.

Books must be purchased in advance of the meeting. "Refuge" can be obtained via Amazon.com or by visiting C & B Plants and Gifts, 216 Willett Avenue in Riverside, RI.

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Host or Publisher Candace Nadine Breen