Aga Maksimowska

Becalming Aga Maksimowska

Feeling stalled in her life, a trip opens Gosia’s eyes to the life she has... and the life she wants. Gosia, a high school chemistry teacher, travels to her native Poland to visit her estranged father.

At the same time, her boyfriend’s father, a man who’s closer to a father figure than her own, is dying of cancer back in Canada. Away from her routine, Gosia questions everything in her life, including her long-time boyfriend, Peter. She feels stuck in the terrifying time of early adulthood, in her first grown-up job while managing school debt, monogamy, and existential dread.

Is this really it, she wonders?Gosia’s time in Poland gives her the chance to really examine her life, and she finds herself pulled homeward to Canada, where she faces the fact that Peter’s father — like her own — is far from perfect. Can she love despite betrayal? Can she find hope in her fiery, complex love for Peter? Is this really it? Or is there something more that she didn’t even realize she had?Becalming is the story of two people who love each other, as they realize that happily-ever-after is not something to aspire towards but rather something to continue to explore, through adversity and outrage, tragedy and inspiration, and love. A RARE MACHINES BOOK