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Moving (a life in boxes): a novel
Jed and Lila are compulsive movers. For them, moving boxes, packing tape, and open houses are the ultimate aphrodisiacs. They meet on a moving day, Jed proposes on a moving day, and they end up moving 18 times in 18 years. Moving defines their lives, their identities. They move for fun, to recover from tragedy, and for new opportunities-until Lila decides she wants them to put down roots, in Boston.
Lila's decision strains their marriage to its limits. What once brought them together now drives them apart. Jed, a computer programming wiz, takes off on a strange cross-country odyssey as a hired hand on a moving van. Nothing about his marriage or life makes sense anymore, and even his obsessive counting can't get his mind back on track. Lila ends up in the hospital after accidentally cutting off her fingers (she's a woodworking instructor) and struggles to both recover and find her husband. They both desperately search for a way back to each other that will make sense of how they've changed since they first met and married.
Moving tells the story of a marriage challenged by wanderlust, obsession, infertility and adoption, and race. Ultimately, Jed and Lila must find a combination of forgiveness and self-compromise to have any hope of staying together.
Lila's decision strains their marriage to its limits. What once brought them together now drives them apart. Jed, a computer programming wiz, takes off on a strange cross-country odyssey as a hired hand on a moving van. Nothing about his marriage or life makes sense anymore, and even his obsessive counting can't get his mind back on track. Lila ends up in the hospital after accidentally cutting off her fingers (she's a woodworking instructor) and struggles to both recover and find her husband. They both desperately search for a way back to each other that will make sense of how they've changed since they first met and married.
Moving tells the story of a marriage challenged by wanderlust, obsession, infertility and adoption, and race. Ultimately, Jed and Lila must find a combination of forgiveness and self-compromise to have any hope of staying together.
234 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
1 person is currently reading
367 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Gabridge
22 books32 followersMy novels include The Secret of Spirit Lake, Steering to Freedom, Tornado Siren and Moving [a life in boxes]. My work for radio has been broadcast by NPR, Shoestring Radio Theatre, Playing on Air, and Icebox Radio Theatre.
My full-length plays include Flight, Distant Neighbors, Lab Rats, Constant State of Panic, and Blinders, and have been staged by theaters across the country. My passion for history extends to the stage, and my historical plays include work about the creation of the English Bible (Fire on Earth), the astronomers Kepler and Tycho (Reading the Mind of God), a volcanic eruption on Martinique (The Prisoner of St. Pierre), 19th century Boston publisher Daniel Sharp Ford (None But the Best), and the 1770 Boston Massacre (Blood on the Snow).
I've been a Playwriting Fellow with the Huntington Theatre Company and with New Repertory. Recent commissions include plays and musicals for In Good Company, The Bostonian Society, Central Square Theatre, and Tumblehome Learning. My short plays are published by Playscripts, Brooklyn Publishers, Heuer, Smith & Kraus, and YouthPlays, and have received more than a thousand productions from theatres and schools around the world.
I have a habit of starting things: I helped start Boston’s Rhombus writers’ group, the Chameleon Stage theatre company in Denver, the Bare Bones Theatre company in New York, the publication Market InSight... for Playwrights, and the on-line Playwrights’ Submission Binge. I'm also a member of the Dramatists Guild, StageSource, and a board member of the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund. I am currently the co-founder and coordinator of the New England New Play Alliance and am actively involved with the Boston theater scene.
My work has received numerous awards, including fellowships from the Colorado Council on the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Commission.
In his spare time, I like to farm and fix up old houses.
My full-length plays include Flight, Distant Neighbors, Lab Rats, Constant State of Panic, and Blinders, and have been staged by theaters across the country. My passion for history extends to the stage, and my historical plays include work about the creation of the English Bible (Fire on Earth), the astronomers Kepler and Tycho (Reading the Mind of God), a volcanic eruption on Martinique (The Prisoner of St. Pierre), 19th century Boston publisher Daniel Sharp Ford (None But the Best), and the 1770 Boston Massacre (Blood on the Snow).
I've been a Playwriting Fellow with the Huntington Theatre Company and with New Repertory. Recent commissions include plays and musicals for In Good Company, The Bostonian Society, Central Square Theatre, and Tumblehome Learning. My short plays are published by Playscripts, Brooklyn Publishers, Heuer, Smith & Kraus, and YouthPlays, and have received more than a thousand productions from theatres and schools around the world.
I have a habit of starting things: I helped start Boston’s Rhombus writers’ group, the Chameleon Stage theatre company in Denver, the Bare Bones Theatre company in New York, the publication Market InSight... for Playwrights, and the on-line Playwrights’ Submission Binge. I'm also a member of the Dramatists Guild, StageSource, and a board member of the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund. I am currently the co-founder and coordinator of the New England New Play Alliance and am actively involved with the Boston theater scene.
My work has received numerous awards, including fellowships from the Colorado Council on the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Commission.
In his spare time, I like to farm and fix up old houses.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 27, 2014
I won this book as a FirstRead.
Jed and Lila have spent their lives moving from place to place; in fact, Jed knew while dating that they were perfect for each other when he discovered that Lila had her own stash of moving boxes and packing tape. However, 18 years and 1 daughter later, Lila is ready to set down roots in their Boston neighborhood and refuses to move when Jed gets a job offer in Omaha. Unable to comprehend his wife's change of heart about constantly moving, Jed wanders around the country, without letting her know where he is and if or when he is coming home.
The story wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but it was even better. The back story was touching, and I was rooting throughout the book for Jed and Lila to find a way to make things work out.
Jed and Lila have spent their lives moving from place to place; in fact, Jed knew while dating that they were perfect for each other when he discovered that Lila had her own stash of moving boxes and packing tape. However, 18 years and 1 daughter later, Lila is ready to set down roots in their Boston neighborhood and refuses to move when Jed gets a job offer in Omaha. Unable to comprehend his wife's change of heart about constantly moving, Jed wanders around the country, without letting her know where he is and if or when he is coming home.
The story wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but it was even better. The back story was touching, and I was rooting throughout the book for Jed and Lila to find a way to make things work out.
April 17, 2015
Worth the read just for the LFUI equation!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews