Goodbye Forever: Notes from the Great Adventure

About the Book

“Goodbye Forever: Notes from the Great Adventure” is a collection of letters --a lively account of the adventures of two sisters in Europe. They studied German in Vienna, hitchhiked down the Adriatic coast through what was then Yugoslavia, and spent three months as housemaids in a chalet in Gstaad, learning how to iron duvet covers and stoke coal furnaces in one of the most expensive ski areas in Europe. After a trip to an ordination in St. Peter’s in Rome, they met cousins in Denmark, and came home changed by their experiences.

About the Author

Mary Riordan lives in Menomonie, Wisconsin with her husband, Dan. She worked in Student Services at the University of Wisconsin—Stout, administering services to students with disabilities and to the multicultural students, including advising the Black Student Union and the Hmong Stout Student Organization. She was a founding member of the Greenwood Players, a children’s theater company, and used her experience to create and tour plays with her students about their experiences to schools in western Wisconsin. Recently she volunteered as a Creative Writing teacher at the Dunn County Jail. This is her first book.

Since tying her shoes in Gstaad, Beth has found a number of other places for this small task that give the same satisfaction. She has been fortunate to return to and live in Europe a number of times. She also lived in western Montana, where she taught history and college writing courses. In 2001, she returned to the Midwest, and she presently lives in Iowa City, Iowa, with her husband, Raymond. She taught at a local community college for a number of years. In addition to the first collaborative book effort, she serves on the board for a local school fund raiser, Run for the Schools. To stay active, she takes boxing lessons.