Three Keys: A Novel

"Becoming invisible is painful . . . unless you know how to work it. Ammalie Dean has just lost the three keys of her life's purpose - her husband, her job, and her role as a mom after her son went off to college. She's also mystified to find herself in middle age - how exactly had that happened? The idea of becoming irrelevant, invisible, of letting her life vaguely slip away-well, the terror of that has her driving through Nebraska with a fork in her hair. What she does have is this: three literal keys, saved in a drawer for years. Keys to homes she hopes will be empty, from her and her husband's past - homes she plans on breaking into. And so Ammalie embarks on an international and increasingly complicated journey - criminal behavior turns out to be challenging - as she seeks to find a life truly her own. And that middle age business? As someone breaking the law, she finds there's real benefit to being invisible while she works on becoming the striking, bold, and very much manifested self she wants tobe. Laura Pritchett, winner of the PEN USA Award for Fiction and the Colorado Book Award, offers a delightful exploration of the very serious business of living a full and honest life. Filled with love, heartbreak, and criminal behavior, Three Keys tackles the unavoidable sorrows and joys coming of age (again) with the zest and vigor that it deserves"--
Newly widowed and unemployed, a woman in her mid-fifties sets off on a journey of trespassing and adventure through the American West and beyond in this witty, thought-provoking novel from the PEN USA Award–winning writer.Becoming invisible is painful . . . unless you know how to work it.Ammalie Brinks has just lost the three keys of her life’s purpose—her husband, her job, and her role as a mom, after her son went off to college. She’s also mystified to find herself in middle age: How exactly had that happened? The terrifying idea of becoming irrelevant, invisible, of letting her life slip away Into obscurity, has her driving distracted through Nebraska with a broken plastic fork in her tangled hair.But what Ammalie has found are three literal keys, saved in a drawer for years, from her and her husband’s past. They are the keys to homes that she hopes will be empty—and plans on spending time in. Embarking on an international and increasingly complicated journey (criminal behavior turns out to be challenging!), she seeks to find a life truly her own. And that middle-age business? As someone breaking the law, Ammalie finds there's a real benefit to being invisible when you’re working on becoming the striking, bold, and very much manifested self you want to be.Laura Pritchett, winner of the PEN USA Award for Fiction and the Colorado Book Award, offers a delightful exploration of the very serious business of living a full and honest life. Filled with love, heartbreak, and misdemeanors, Three Keys tackles the unavoidable sorrows and joys experienced during a second coming of age with the zest and vigor that it deserves.