Lily Iona MacKenzie

Freefall Lily Iona MacKenzie

The story of four old friends reuniting to contemplate their 60th birthdays turns into a marvelous, magical mystery tour with plenty of surprises and laughs along the way. An enchanting exploration of aging, art, philosophy, feminism, and motherhood, written with style and a heavy dose of humor. A Divine Comedy, indeed!

During a four-day reunion in Whistler, B. C., Tillie Bloom, a wacky installation artist, reconnects with three women she had hung out with in the late '50s and early '60s. While in Whistler, secrets surface and a near death experience occurs during a hike, both of which bind the women at a deeper level. Their new intimacy prompts them to celebrate the millennium as well as their approaching sixtieth birthdays in Italy. So a few weeks later, Tillie travels to Venice to have an extended reunion with her friends. While the women assume they're in Venice to vacation and deepen their relationships, Tillie has a hidden agenda: she intends to crash the Venice Biennale, hoping to find a larger audience for her art. Cupid's arrows complicate her goals when she and an Italian priest fall for each other. The reflective quality of Venice's canals also create unexpected changes in the women,
causing them to turn inward. They all end up with a fresh take on themselves and their lives. Tillie, in particular, experiences a deeper understanding of herself. But will it take her on a path she's ready to travel, and will Venice finally give her the recognition she seeks as an artist?