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Set in the early 1900s, the novel follows young Lucia Rutkowski who, thanks to the influence of her beloved grandmother, escapes the Warsaw ghetto to work as a kitchen maid in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the bustling city of Paris. Too talented for her lowly position, Lucia is thrown out on the street. Her only recourse is to take a job working for two disorganized, rather poor married scientists so distracted by their work that their house and young child are often neglected. Lucia soon bonds with her eccentric employers, watching as their work with radioactive materials grows increasing noticed by the world, then rising to fame as the great Marie and Pierre Curie.. . Soon, all of Paris is alit with the news of an impending visit from Eusapia Palladino, the worlds most famous medium. It is through her now famous employers that Lucia attends Eusapias gatherings and eventually falls under the mediums spell, leaving the Curie household to travel with her to Italy. Ultimately, Lucia is placed directly in the crosshairs of faith versus science –what is more real, the glowing substances of the Curie laboratory or the glowing visions that surround the medium during her séance?



About the Author

Susan Sherman

Susan Sherman is a former Chairman of the Art Department of Whittier College, a small liberal arts university. She is also the co-creator of "That's So Raven," Chosen for "Great New Reads in Fiction" by People Magazine, Susan Sherman's debut novel, The Little Russian, has garnered starred reviews in Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, and has captured the hearts of readers with its tribute to the too-often unsung heroines of history. Her second book, IF YOU ARE THERE, set in the early 1900's is about a young Polish girl, Lucia Rutkowska, who escapes the textile mills in Warsaw and sets off for Paris to make something of herself. Through a series of bizarre events she finds work in a home run by two scientists consumed by their groundbreaking research, Marie and Pierre Curie. Lucia soon bonds with her eccentric employers, watching as their work with radioactive materials draws interest first from the scientific community and then from the whole world. Soon, all of Paris is alight with the news of an impending visit from Eusapia Palladino, the world's most famous medium. Spiritualism and the series of sittings offered by Palladino draw great interest from the Parisian scientific community. It is through her now famous employers that Lucia attends Eusapia's gatherings and eventually falls under the medium's spell, leaving the Curie household to travel with her to Italy. Ultimately, Lucia is placed directly in the cross hairs of faith versus science-which is more real, the glowing substances of the Curie laboratory or the glowing visions that surround the medium during her séance? Lucia's journey will threaten her faith, her allegiance to the Curies, and her budding love with a muckraking journalist seeking to expose them all. If You Are There is a compelling, page turning novel that draws upon real characters and events to detail its examination of a young woman torn between the beliefs she was born with and the scientific realities blooming all around her. If You Are There has been named a must read in January by purewow. com and one of the top seven books to read in January by the Chicago Review of Book



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