Novel about local couple’s love story tells of hope, perserverance

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It’s a love story with Perry County roots.
Nancy LoRusso chronicled the love story of Leon Schumer and Ethel Renaud in a new novel titled “Rekindled Love”
The book was released on Jan. 28, 2023, and tells the story of a hopeless romantic returning to his country roots; his love has moved on to the big city. Accepting that their relationship would never be restored, he resolves to make a life for himself in the green pastures of Perryville. Years pass with a happy marriage, six children, a partner in a family business, and life on the farm until his wife of 62 years passes away.
Grieving the loss, he finds solace in a kind letter whose author proves more familiar than he thought. When he realizes his new pen pal is none other than the love of his youth, his heart ignites with the possibility of love restored. But the years and miles between them are stubborn and don’t yield so easily to the renewed desire for a relationship.
“I knew the story of Leon and Ethel dating as teenagers,” LoRusso said. “Then the two of them getting married at 87 and 86. I just thought someone should tell this love story.”

As well as being a good story, LoRusso felt that the novel has a lot of good themes.
“I thought the story had a lot of life principles in it for others,” she said. “It was one of those true love stories and there are traits such as perseverance, hope, and enduring love. When someone has had loss they don’t know if there will be a reason to move forward. This story proves that you are never too old for a happy ever after.”
LoRusso said that the book required years of research and interviews.
“This is three years in the making,” she said. “I knew that Leon wanted this story made into a book, and I had already written another book and I decided this was going to be my next project. I started going from St. Louis to Perryville once a month, and then COVID-19 hit and put a stop to that. Then we started doing interviews over the phone and in email. A lot of this was done over the phone. This story was written in first person from their point of view. I let them proof it and read over everything to make sure the stories were correct.”
The book may be purchased on Amazon, with a book signing in the works in the next couple of weeks.