Snow Sanctuary

by Lee Hall Delfausse

Avalanches, injury, paralysis, death, loneliness-all part of international ski racing-are predictable dangers compared with the corruption of coaches. Lia Erickson learns how to grapple with these challenges in her ski journey through the Sierra Nevadas and the European Alps, eventually gaining courage from her teammates and herself. Praise for Snow Sanctuary- "I loved the novel! What amazing characters and images you've created, and what a complicated story laced with kindness, treachery, innocence and its loss." Susie Tomkins, teacher, editor "This ski racing saga takes us back to the 70's, but it couldn't be more timely. It's a well-told "Me Too" story-male coaches taking advantage of young, ambitious female skiers. You need to read this!" Susan Winthrop, ski writer and literary critic "Skiing makes me feel free and limitless. The vivid descriptions in Snow Sanctuary capture that exact feeling." Ollie Olsen, avid skier, actor and script writer "How does it feel going 70 mph on skis? What is one willing to risk or do to make the Olympic ski team? This literary novel tells all in a page-turning tale built on memorable characters. I couldn't put it down." Rosie Fortna, Olympic ski racer Leehalldelfausse@gmail.com snowsanctuary.com

360 pages, Paperback

Published June 6, 2018

About the author

Lee Hall Delfausse, a graduate of UC Berkeley, Phi Beta Kappa, and a postgraduate in Journalism and American Literature, now lives in the Green Mountains of Vermont and is a member of The League of Vermont Writers.

As a former member of the U.S. World Cup ski team, for four years she enjoyed the travel, the friendships, the challenges, all while learning to overcome the dangers, the injuries, and the conflicts. Her novel
"Snow Sanctuary" is a compilation of the many stories she gathered from her teammates.

For 25 years, while teaching American Literature and writing in college and high school, she used examples from Muir, Emerson, and Thoreau to embellish her stories about the US ski team.

Having coached both skiing and tennis for years, she now wants to inform female athletes and parents about the subtle dangers that can arise when coaches are unsupervised.

Reviews

[Cheryl Van Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars if I could - EXCELLENT read!

Transparency - I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This review was in no way influenced by the free copy (in fact, I ended up buying it on Kindle for ease of carrying!)

I was worried that, as a non-skier, I wouldn't like this book. But I was SO wrong! Lia's story, while set in the stunning backgrounds of world class skiing, is relate-able to anyone, but especially athletes. Watching this young woman develop, watching her heart break as tragedies and life realities unfolded before her (and to her), was at once heartbreaking and ultimately, inspiring. Her ideals of loyalty, family and friendship, as well as justice, were hard for her to hold onto in the fast-paced high profile world of elite skiing, but she found allies in the end. The topics of corruption in high level sports and the abuse of young female athletes in a male dominated world was hard to read at times, but timely.

The writing style was really good - conversations were easy to follow and the descriptions of the landscapes Lia experienced were fabulous, really bringing you to these pristine, gorgeous places.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lee Hall Delfausse tells a story that needs to be told, especially in the time of the "Me, too" Movement. And she chose to write it as a novel, which was appropriate, and which I appreciated. It is an easy read, but I thought the characters weren't developed enough, and they all spoke in the same voice...for instance, they all used the grammatically incorrect "should of" and could of". They were from all parts of the world with varying educational levels, so, to me, that made them less believable. I loved the descriptions of the mountains and how different they were from country to country, and I loved the main character, Lia's description of her deep love for the snow. I wish I knew what the consequences were, if any, for Coach Boast and Coach Ryan.