The 86th Degree

by Barbara Harken

If we could measure emotional pain in degrees, we would all take action at 100 degrees.  Most of us live at 85 degrees.  The hardest step is the one above the norm. . .the 86th Degree.

Amber Helm begins her third year of teaching full of excitement, glad to be back in the comfort zone of the classroom.  At the beginning teacher inservice, she discovers that for several weeks, a former lover from college will be the “Artist in Residence,” the man she walked out on three years ago.  Set back by the inevitable confrontation, she resolves to treat him as an adult, a resolve not likely to happen.  Just as Amber thinks life is under control, in walks Jocelyn Quint, angry sophomore and abused child.  When Amber reaches out to Jocelyn, she is falsely accused of assault on Jocelyn’s mother and suspended.  The ripples of her own relationship with a toxic mother surface, and she must do more than get her job back.  She must learn to love herself, and then be open to a love that waits for her.

“The 86th Degree is a love story written with so much emotion that you are infused with empathy.  Denied love and the desire to be loved are parallel with abuse and abusers. Barb weaves passion, romance, and mystery into her novel set in the education field that she knows so well.”    * Jeanne Anderson

“Sometimes it takes the fight to rescue someone else before you can save yourself.  In this relevant novel, the lives of a spirited and dedicated teacher, a past love, and a troubled student collide.  The reader will follow and support Amber Helm through her trials and realization to an enlightening denouement.”   * Karen Anderson
 
“Think the latest buzz in the teachers’ lounge is about grades? If you do, Barb Harken’s sassy first novel—a tale about a young teacher’s lost love, her feelings, desires and ultimate betrayal—will change your mind. With only so much time to read, don’t wait. Discover if family ties are lethal.”      *  Vi Steine
 

A Story of Abuse, Rejection, and Healing by Richard R. Blake Barbara Harken writes with fervor in "The 86th Degree." She relates the story of Amber Helm. Her novel combines a story of romance, rejection, self acceptance, and emotional healing. Amber, young and idealistic, has intentionally chosen teaching as a profession to enable her to positively influence students. She is a high school teacher in Chicago's inner city. Amber has been instrumental in securing a grant for the school to sponsor a special class to encourage young journalism students. Ethan Michaels will be teaching the five week class. Amber is conflicted as she learns that Ethan will be leading the class and that she has been assigned to welcome him to the school as a department host. Three years earlier Amber had walked out on Ethan after a brief summer romance and had not seen or heard from him since.  As Amber relives some deep rooted emotional experiences of her childhood, her mother's illness, and the demands of her wealthy father she finds herself on an emotional roller coaster.      Amber is faced with stark reality of the emotional crisis that one of her students, Jocelyn is going through. She begins to cultivate friendship with her and soon discovers that there is an abusive relationship in the home. Her own deep seated anger and emotional scars cause Amber to make unwise decisions that have serious ramifications on her career.      Harken introduces the reader to the foundational issues of child abuse, verbal, and physical, and of the paradigm shift in philosophical, psychological, and legal implications being faced in our society today.      Conflict, resolution, and more conflict keep the reader glued to the pages of this important novel which creates a social awareness and critique of the problem of abusive relationships and the importance of the availability of emotional caregivers, and interventions.      Barbara Harken writes convincingly with a strong plot, crisp dialog, and believable characters. She has used her own experience in the classroom to create a timely, engrossing, poignant story of hurt and healing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (see photo below):  Barbara Harken was raised in Chicago until she moved to Iowa when she was sixteen. She taught high school English and social studies for thirty-eight years until she retired. She dabbles in a side career as a singer and has published educational material and personal essays.  She currently lives in Waverly, Iowa with her husband Bob, where she teaches writing at Wartburg College.

The 86th Degree by Barbara Harken
Paperback, 6 x 9, 258 pages, $14.95, ISBN:  978-1-931741-94-1