In March of 2025, almost a year ago now, I was in the very beginning of my “creative pivot” after my corporate job was eliminated. The questions of what do I want to do and how do I want to do it were top of mind. And of course, how would I make money?? I reached out to my network, far and wide. One of the most impactful calls was with a Nantucket friend and author, spiritual guru, realtor, Holly Ruth Finnegan. She suggested that I come to a writer’s retreat she was hosting with some other writers. Not that I was a writer or even an aspiring writer… She suggested that I come and just see how it felt to be around entrepreneurial people. Everyone who lives on Nantucket has something like 3 jobs. And that’s how I met a slew of talented writers and all round good people. Julie Gerstenblatt was one of those people.
Julie wrote “Daughters of Nantucket” in 2023, which followed the story of three very different women just before the great fire of Nantucket in 1846. I hadn’t read this book prior to the writer’s retreat, so I picked it up immediately following. What I loved is that Julie’s book introduced me to a completely new side of Nantucket history. I highly recommend “Daughters of Nantucket” if you haven’t already read it. Now, Julie’s next novel is being released on June 9th “The Stargazer of Nantucket”!
To order “Daughters of Nantucket” https://amzn.to/46EC9OB
To pre-order “The Stargazer of Nantucket” https://amzn.to/40dayjT
I had the opportunity to read an advance digital copy “The Stargazer of Nantucket: A Novel.” I loved getting swept away on an 1851 merchant ship leaving from Nantucket, navigating to San Francisco, and then traveling on to China. The characters and their relationships kept me hooked, and the ship itself becomes a main character. I learned so much about life at sea, navigating, the doldrums, by experiencing it first hand through the main charaters. I absolutely recommend giving this book a read on June 9th!
So what was it like to spend the 2025 Spring Solstice on Nantucket at a writer’s retreat? In a word, amazing. Nantucket is so quiet that time of year, and I was lucky enough to stay at a friend’s house in Quident. Talk about quiet. During that very stressful time of finding myself again (or inventing someone new) that was the first time that I felt calm and actually took a nap. I also walked miles and miles. At the retreat, at the amazing “The Dips” estate, I explored new ways of thinking about writing and about what could be. I met amazing people who were published authors, creative thinkers, and filled with aspirations. This blog came out of that writer’s retreat. Lot’s of friendships came out that time too.
Practical info: Nantucket is an easy day trip from Scituate or anywhere on the South Shore. The ferry fast ferry or slow car ferry departs several times a day from Hyannis. Parking for the ferry is easy. The boat ride itself is an hour, 2 hours and 30 minutes if you take the car ferry. Writers retreat optional.