At The RV Book Fair 2025, author Leigh Shalloway shares the heart and emotional depth behind her debut novel, Journey Back to You, through a thoughtful Listen Blurb video that reflects her background in psychology and her deep understanding of human relationships.
Leigh holds a degree in psychology from Emory University and a master’s degree in counseling and school psychology from Seattle University. Her academic foundation shapes her storytelling, allowing her to explore family dynamics, emotional resilience, addiction, and identity with sensitivity and realism. Currently based in the Pacific Northwest, Leigh brings a grounded, empathetic voice to contemporary fiction.
In her blurb video, Leigh speaks about Journey Back to You as a coming-of-age story centered on Kathleen Hill, a young woman eager to leave her hometown of Hilltown and begin college. At home, Kathleen faces mounting pressure from her father to one day take over the family’s steel mill, while her mother’s depression and substance dependence quietly erode the stability of their household.
Kathleen’s acceptance into Northwestern University feels like an escape, but before leaving, she forms an unexpected romantic connection with Jase Thompson, a mill worker who introduces her to the harsh realities of labor, loyalty, and community. Their relationship reveals the divide between privilege and working-class life, a gap that widens as Kathleen leaves for college.
At school, Kathleen is drawn into a new world of sororities, culture, and polished social circles, where she meets Richard, whose charm and lifestyle offer a sharp contrast to her past. Yet when Kathleen eventually returns to Hilltown, she is confronted with devastating change. The mill is gone, addiction has taken hold of the town, her family home is at risk, and Jase’s brother may be in serious trouble. Most haunting of all is the unanswered question: where is Jase?
Journey Back to You is a powerful exploration of love, loss, survival, and reconciliation—one that asks how we return to ourselves after everything familiar has fallen apart.
Leigh Shalloway’s presence at The RV Book Fair 2025 highlights a new voice in fiction—one that blends psychological insight with heartfelt storytelling to capture the quiet struggles and enduring hope found in ordinary lives.