Advertisement
Join us to celebrate the debut novel of author Stephen Wasilewski on Saturday, April 11th from 11am to 2pm. Copies will be available to purchase and be signed during the event.The River Between Us is set in Vietnam and follows two childhood best friends whose unbreakable bond is slowly fractured by war, politics, and betrayal. Caught in forces far beyond their control, they must navigate love, loss, and loyalty in a world where survival demands impossible choices. What they become, and what they lose, will test whether their bond can survive.
Author’s Bio
Stephen Wasilewski is a well-known and respected business owner in Schuylkill County who provides vocational support and career development services to students with disabilities. He is a graduate of Kutztown University and Misericordia University, where he majored in social studies education and earned a master’s degree in business. He enjoys writing, traveling, and sharing his lived experiences through educational settings.
His passion for history and uncovering forgotten narratives deepened during his travels across Asia. He visited historical sites such as the Củ Chi tunnels and the Independence Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as well as the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum in Seoul, South Korea. There, he encountered the enduring scars of war, learning about tragedies like the Mỹ Lai massacre and the suffering of Korea’s “comfort women.”
The River Between Us, his debut novel, was inspired by a letter he read in Korea that honored women’s strength and their ability to survive horrific and inhumane conditions during wartime. Blending historical fact with fiction, the novel tells a story of survival, sisterhood, and quiet resistance in the face of sweeping political change. Stephen believes that stories, especially those rooted in pain, can heal, connect, and inspire readers to carry their own stories forward across generations.
Author’s Note
The River Between Us is set in rural Vietnam from the 1930s through the post-war era, exploring the enduring bond between two childhood friends whose lives are fractured by war, politics, and personal betrayal. Minh and Mai grow up inseparable in a quiet village, but as colonial rule ends and the country descends into chaos, their paths diverge, Minh becoming a mother and caretaker amid hardship, while Mai disappears into the shifting loyalties of a divided nation.
This story is a work of fiction, but it is rooted in real places, real pain, and the real strength of Vietnamese families, especially women, who endured unspeakable loss while holding on to joy wherever they could find it. The River Between Us was written to honor the quiet resilience of villages, mothers, daughters, and friendships that survived beyond war, hunger, and grief.
Minh and Mai are not just characters to me; they are voices of memory, sisterhood, and healing. Through bicycles and lullabies, firelight and silence, this is their story of love tested by fear, and resistance born from devotion.
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
215 W Market St, Pottsville, PA, United States, Pennsylvania 17901
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
