Stage Seven

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Stevens has written a warm, moving novel, deftly weaving together the perspectives of a single mother, her sister, her daughter, an older man, and his grandson, all simultaneously losing someone they love to advanced dementia. As, inevitably, they have their own emotional swings and reflect on their lives and futures, we can relate relate to each of them and feel for them deeply. With compassion and a sure hand, Stevens makes clear that the patients are not the only ones affected by this disease but that, inevitably, everyone close to them is transformed in unpredictable ways. – Amazon Review

Stage Seven

Barbara Gordon is a self-reliant, divorced mom, brilliant at managing her life with lists and spreadsheets. Lately, though, the demands of a teenage daughter, a manipulative sister, and a mother with worsening Alzheimer’s are more than she can handle.

Then Barbara meets Jack, an appealing older man married to a late-stage dementia patient who no longer knows him. Jack and Barbara hold the power to make each other happy…but only if Barbara can break her long cycle of romantic abstinence.

Funny, sad, and heartwarming, Stage Seven is about two people caught between love and duty, and the risks we take when we commit our hearts to family, friends, and lovers alike.

About the Author

Ruth F. Stevens likes to write stories that will make you laugh and cry. She says, “I like to write about the topics that worry me the most. Since I worry about a great many things, there is never a shortage of material.” She’s also a big believer in the power of laughter to ease our pain and anxiety. Humor is therefore an important component in anything she writes, no matter how serious the subject.

Stage Seven, her debut novel, was inspired in part by real-life experiences dealing with her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease. It is based on her stage play of the same title.

Ruth has been writing professionally for her entire career–including hundreds of articles for magazines, newspapers, and journals–but creative writing is her passion. She took up this endeavor full-time after quitting her day job in 2017. At last count, she’s written two plays and three novels. In her spare time, she enjoys travel, hiking, winetasting, hip hop, Broadway musicals, movies, leading a book club, and visiting her grandsons in Manhattan.

Ruth is a resident of Torrance, California. She is a former public relations professional (in NY and LA) and proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America and Women Fiction Writers Association.