Dear Virginia, Wait for Me
A Novel
by Marcia Butler
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Pub Date 6 May 2025 | Archive Date 5 May 2025
Central Avenue Publishing | Central Avenue
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Description
For as long as she can remember, Peppa Ryan has been guided by a benevolent voice in her head who she believes is Virginia Woolf. Though she's an exceptionally bright twenty-year-old, she suffers from crippling low self-esteem and has barely left her parents' ramshackle home in Queens, New York. Set at the turn of the millennium, Peppa defies her parents' wishes and ventures out on her own to a job at a Wall Street investment firm. But her parents continue to pull strings, insisting she date a handsome but penniless plumber in the hopes she’ll return to her roots. Peppa plans to immediately dismiss the plumber on their first date, but to her surprise they discover an unlikely bond over a shared love of the novels of Virginia Woolf.
Peppa continues to flourish and her confidence grows as those around her recognize and admire her analytical prowess. Then, when her relationship with her parents and the plumber becomes untenable due to a devastating betrayal, Peppa succumbs to her mental fragilities and suffers a collapse. With the help of her kindhearted boss, his eccentric client, and the voice of Virginia, Peppa recovers. And on one crisp and clear autumn morning she considers a path to reconciliation.
For those who loved Where'd You Go, Bernadette, The Remedy for Love, or And Then We Came to The End, this is a sensitive coming-of-age novel of a fragile yet brilliant young woman who, like Virginia Woolf, is determined to carve her unique path in life.
A Note From the Publisher
May I share? This morning while showering I had an intense conversation with my oldest sister. We’d had a huge misunderstanding over the recent Thanksgiving holiday. She misunderstood something I said, and though I tried to explain at the time, she spent the entire day avoiding me. So, what better place to practice my approach for when I called her later in the day then by having a conversation with her, out loud, while shampooing my hair. Can you relate?
The mind is rarely quiet. We all have chatter going on in our heads, pretty much all of the time. This fact is one of the main inspirations for creating the character Peppa Ryan in my novel Dear Virginia, Wait For Me. But Peppa is special. Her conversation partner is Virginia Woolf, her literary hero. She relies on Virginia to guide her as she attempts to break away from her parents and start her very first job on Wall Street. My hope is that you will relate to, and perhaps even see yourselves, in Peppa Ryan—her bravery, her determination, her humility, and her need to listen to that person in her head. And talk back.
Thank you so much for reading my book!
Marcia
Advance Praise
“Full of wit, charm, and its fair share of everything bagels, Marcia Butler’s moving book manages to be a warm and generous New York novel while grappling with the ghosts of childhood trauma, lost literary heroes, and societal definitions of “madness”. Her protagonist believes she’s being guided by the voice of Virginia Woolf, but it is Butler’s voice — comforting and astute, alive to the music of kindness as well as betrayal — that holds you to the end.” — Jonathan Lee, author of High Dive and The Great Mistake
“What does it mean to hear voices? Dear Virginia, Wait for Me is an original, poignant, and, yes, playful novel that deals with mental health, hidden supports, and the joys of love and abiding friendship. A vibrant book full of charms and surprises.” — Joan Silber, author of Secrets of Happiness and Improvement
“Sometimes, all I want is to be immersed in a world in which the heroine embraces her own quirky brilliance while learning to accept help and love, and, in doing so, redefines family as a way of finding home. Enter Marcia Butler’s Dear Virginia, Wait For Me, a compelling, sweet, surprising novel with the unworldly and wise Peppa Ryan as its beating heart. I read it in just two sittings, rushing to know how it ends but wishing it would just keep going.” — Lori Ostlund, author of Are You Happy? and After the Parade
“As a book populated by those you would gladly share any given evening with, this story would happily grace the time spent. Protagonist Peppa Ryan finds friendship in a way she never could have planned, or even imagined. Better yet, as someone who has never been truly heard, she listens to an inner voice both known and mysterious, and it becomes the key to her very survival. This wonderful novel has changed how, who and what I listen to. May it be that book for you.” — Gil Gross, broadcast journalist, CBS News
“Cinematic and evocative, Dear Virginia, Wait For Me explores the serendipity in unexpected, life-altering friendships. With empathy and wit, Marcia Butler introduces us to characters that are simultaneously quirky and relatable, and an expansive New York City ripe with opportunity. Butler’s page-turning prose compels us to explore the power of humor and hope in the face of despair.” — Keren Blankfeld, author of Lovers in Auschwitz
“Enchanting and evocative; every young woman who has struggled to find her true voice in a changing world will see herself in Peppa Ryan.” — Jessica Handler, author of The Magnetic Girl
“In this tender tale of familial and romantic love, Butler brings to life a quirky young woman, who has the gift of exceptional sensitivity and intelligence, but is trapped by her family’s suffocating possessiveness and her own insecurity. Peppa is also audio clairvoyant, who in a delightful narrative twist, hears the voice of her heroine, Virginia Woolf, guiding and nurturing her across the barrier of time as Peppa wrestles to love on her own terms and become her authentic self in the 21st century.” — Jessica Brilliant Keener, author of Strangers in Budapest, an Indie Next Pick and SIBA bestseller
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9781771684088 |
PRICE | CA$23.00 (CAD) |
PAGES | 192 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Peppa is a young brilliant but fragile woman who feels she's guided by the voice of Virginia Woolf. She flourishes after joining an investment firm in Manhattan, but after a traumatizing betrayal, suffers a mental collapse. This poignant story offers a sensitive portrait of living with mental illness, and also brings hope with Peppa's hard-won recovery. Masterful!