Six Weeks in Reno

A woman at a "divorce ranch" in 1930s Reno strives to live life on her own terms in a powerful novel about heartbreak, hope, and the allure of the unknown.

September 27, 1931. Today my new life begins.

After twenty years in a loveless marriage, Evelyn Henderson will do anything to escape her stifling suburban life. She boards a train for Reno, Nevada, a former frontier town that's booming thanks to "six-weekers": women from all walks of life who take up residence there just long enough to secure an uncontested divorce-a right they don't yet have in their home states.

Evelyn settles into the Flying N Ranch and soon bonds with her housemates, most of whom have never ventured this far from home-or from societal conventions. The Biggest Little City in the World offers a heady taste of freedom for the six-weekers: horseback riding in denim and fringe by day and being courted by dance-hall cowboys by night. But underneath the glamour are the grim realities of Depression-era America, as well as the devastating consequences of escape.

As Evelyn is drawn out of her shell by a Hollywood-handsome wrangler and challenged by her new friends to reengage with the world in all its heartbreaking complexity, one thing becomes clear: six weeks will change her life forever.