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The Old PlaceHardcover 336 pages A bighearted and moving debut about a wry retired schoolteacher whose decade old secret threatens to come to light and send shockwaves through her small Texas town. Billington, Texas, is a place where nothing changes. Well, almost nothing. For the first time in nearly four decades, Mary Alice Roth is not getting ready for the first day of school at Billington High. A few months into her retirementor, district mandated exile as she
Hardcover  | 336 pages
A bighearted and moving debut about a wry retired schoolteacher whose decade-old secret threatens to come to light and send shockwaves through her small Texas town.
Billington, Texas, is a place where nothing changes. Well, almost nothing. For the first time in nearly four decades, Mary Alice Roth is not getting ready for the first day of school at Billington High. A few months into her retirement—or, district mandated exile as she calls it—Mary Alice does not know how to fill her days. The annual picnic is coming up, but that isn’t nearly enough since the menu never changes and she had the roles mentally assigned weeks ago. At least there’s Ellie, who stops by each morning for coffee and whose reemergence in Mary Alice’s life is the one thing soothing the sting of retirement.Â
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Mary Alice and Ellie were a pair since the day Ellie moved in next door. That they both were single mothers—Mary Alice widowed, Ellie divorced—with sons the same age was a pleasant coincidence, but they were forever linked when they lost the boys, one right after the other. Years later, the two are working their way back to a comfortable friendship. But when Mary Alice’s sister arrives on her doorstep with a staggering piece of news, it jeopardizes the careful shell she’s built around her life. The whole of her friendship with Ellie is put at risk, the fabric of a place as steadfast as Billington is questioned, and the unflappable, knotty fixture that is Mary Alice Roth might have to change after all. Â
Billington, Texas, is a place where nothing changes. Well, almost nothing. For the first time in nearly four decades, Mary Alice Roth is not getting ready for the first day of school at Billington High. A few months into her retirement—or, district mandated exile as she calls it—Mary Alice does not know how to fill her days. The annual picnic is coming up, but that isn’t nearly enough since the menu never changes and she had the roles mentally assigned weeks ago. At least there’s Ellie, who stops by each morning for coffee and whose reemergence in Mary Alice’s life is the one thing soothing the sting of retirement.Â
Â
Mary Alice and Ellie were a pair since the day Ellie moved in next door. That they both were single mothers—Mary Alice widowed, Ellie divorced—with sons the same age was a pleasant coincidence, but they were forever linked when they lost the boys, one right after the other. Years later, the two are working their way back to a comfortable friendship. But when Mary Alice’s sister arrives on her doorstep with a staggering piece of news, it jeopardizes the careful shell she’s built around her life. The whole of her friendship with Ellie is put at risk, the fabric of a place as steadfast as Billington is questioned, and the unflappable, knotty fixture that is Mary Alice Roth might have to change after all. Â
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4.4 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Wonderful reading
Format: Paperback
It is a pleasure to “listen” to MLK Jr, and his description of the Montgomery boycott, mostly after reading the newest biography King, a life. Both books are highly recommended.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Amazing
Format: Paperback
Absolutely love this book I’ve been really curious to learn about history of MLK and so far the book is great.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2026
★★★★★ 5
What a man
Format: Kindle
This book should be required reading for all Americans. MLK Jr. describes his journey through leading the bus boycotts following Rosa Parks refusal to give up her seat. MLK's conviction in nonviolent resistance even when facing the most vicious hate and attacks is extremely inspiring and admirable.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Required Reading
Format: Kindle
Required reading for those interested in DEI, social justice, nonviolent protest, and contemporary Christianity. Dr. King continues to be an inspiration long after his assassination.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Detailed View of the Important Montgomery Movement
Format: Kindle
If you have read The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr (MLK), incidents of the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama are duplicated but conveyed in more detail. The book clearly explained the life and mindset of the participants of the movement. It is a treasury of information on the life, personality and mind of MLK that have guided him throughout his vocation as leader of a non-violent anti-slavery movement. It will benefit all blacks and immigrants like me, even the Left and Radicals, to read MLK's books at this time and in this place of our present world. We can all benefit to apply his movement to our times to make America a better place.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2020