One Town One Book welcomes author Catherine Drake

Sept. 13, 2022  |  By Judi Byron | Correspondent

Author Catherine Drake speaks at Bridgeside Books recently as part of the One Town One Book reading project. Photo by Cheryl Casey

Looking to launch a local book reading project with the theme of “One Town One Book,” Bridgeside Books owner Katya d'Angelo and staffer Jenna Danyew’s first inspiration was to contact debut novelist Catherine Drake, author of “The Treehouse on Dog River Road.” 

Though the Dog River flows from Roxbury to Montpelier, it doesn’t run through Waterbury. That’s a small license taken in this fictional story set exclusively in Waterbury. The Winooski River, of which the Dog River is a tributary, features prominently in the tale in its telling of the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, the story’s conclusion.

The choice was a no-brainer according to the Bridgeside Books crew.  The One Town One Book project is intended to bring the community together to discuss a book and its themes, and the fact that Waterbury was the loci of this novel made it the perfect story to start with. 

First-time novelist Drake was thrilled at the opportunity, too. 

According to d'Angelo, some 250 people bought the book. How many read it so far? She figures upwards of 300 considering lending and sharing through the Waterbury Public Library, copies around town in little libraries and at the food shelf, etc. 

Last week, about 30 of those readers showed up for a book discussion with Drake at the book shop. It was more than a typical book-group discussion though. Drake wanted feedback from the audience. What did they like? What didn’t they like? 

Drake fielded questions and comments about inaccuracies or anything that rubbed “Waterburyites” the wrong way. She explained the “whys” of place names, characters and scenes that she used, much of which is based on personal scenarios. Drake acknowledged that some details such as business names are accurately mentioned in the book, in other cases names are changed. She humbly admitted that she didn’t really know what she was doing when she set out on this first project to write fiction.

Though she started the writing process in 2017, editing took a few more years. Initially not interested in getting published, Drake said she “wrote in a vacuum," and had a whole other career that she tended to. “The Treehouse on Dog River Road” (She Writes Press, May 2022) came out a bit later than Drake had hoped. She told the group that she had hoped the book would have debuted on the 10th anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene which was in August 2021.

Drake said the question she gets most frequently is “Why Waterbury?” for the setting given that she lives in Stowe. Drake explained that the novel was originally written as a tribute to Waterbury.  Inspired by the community response after Irene, Drake said she knew from the start that Waterbury would be the backdrop for coming-of-age story and new-relationship theme which is fraught with complexity. 

In real life, Drake moved to Stowe just before Irene hit, and she said she was so moved by the outpouring of community support that happened in Waterbury following the disaster. She contrasted the Vermont “we’re gonna get this thing done” attitude with her home state of New Jersey, where, as she put it “people whined, and complained and blamed, and took it personally” in the aftermath of a different natural disaster.

So Drake set to work on telling the story of a young, bright woman getting out of the Boston rat race who moves to Vermont to babysit her sister’s kids for the summer while the parents take off for South America on field work. The protagonist Hannah wants to find her own way and embarks on an ambitious project of making a treehouse for the kids. It’s a way for her to both do something and make a plan at the same time.  When Irene hits, everything changes. 

Drake said the writing was the easy part of this endeavor, while publishing and bookselling has been a completely new education. She credits the real-life town with her fictional story’s success, too. WDEV featured the book in one of its shows with both Drake and d’Angelo and copies to borrow from the Waterbury Public Library gave it more attention, she noted. 

Drake’s affection for Waterbury’s sense of community continues. She describes the town as a place where you could hang out with your dogs and your friends and your kids. 

She also shared with the gathering at the bookstore that Waterbury will be the setting of her next novel, already in the plans.

Judi Byron is the adult program director at the Waterbury Public Library and a contributor to Waterbury Roundabout.