As the Wheels Turn

About this book

"Jack Dieteman captures youth, wonder, discovery, and the joys and sorrows of a first love, all with the spirit of a Bruce Springsteen concert."-Greg Fields, author of The Bright Freight of Memory"Even if you've never laced up a pair of roller skates, you'll surely find a piece of your own youth in As the Wheels Turn." -Rich Appel, host of the nationally syndicated radio show That Thing with Rich AppelIn the summer of 1978, long before his hometown rink ever opens its doors, a New Jersey teenager meets a girl from Minnesota who captures his heart at first glance. What begins as a fleeting vacation romance deepens into something neither time nor distance can easily erase.Soon, a new roller rink becomes the center of his world-a place of flashing lights, pulsing music, and new love in constant motion. Weekend by weekend, he comes of age beneath the glow of the rink, caught up in its rhythms and rituals. Yet beyond it all, the letters from Minnesota keep arriving, each one a quiet reminder that his story may be unfolding somewhere far beyond New Jersey.But then the letters stop.In the silence that follows, heartbreak gives way to determination, sending him in search of the girl he never forgot. As the phone rings, one question lingers: Was their connection truly lost-or simply waiting for him to find his way back?Inspired by real experiences and told with warmth, honesty, and vivid nostalgia, As the Wheels Turn captures the exhilaration, innocence, and ache of coming of age in the late 1970s and early 1980s.