Silverbirch Summer

A summer of choice...and basketball

For April, the rustic Silverbirch Lodge in the Catskills was magical, a tree palace. It was where Long Islanders in 1965, who didn't have their own vacation homes, went to get away for the summer. And after a whirlwind senior year of high school, it seemed like the perfect place to spend the time before college deciding what she really wanted to do with her life...and play basketball.

April loved basketball. Her hero was Bob Cousy, the so-called Houdini of the Hardwood. She had worn the Celtics jersey her mom had sewn for her for as long as she could remember. April never had a security blanket, but she would always treasure "the Cousy."

Going to Silverbirch would be, April thought, a time to find herself. She would spend her days teaching basketball skills to younger boys and girls and have free time alone to reminisce about her childhood and the senior prom where things got "sort-of serious" with her best friend, Richie.

Little did she anticipate that her time in the Catskills would be more about love than basketball. It became a summer of choice, as three very different men courted her. April's emergence as a young woman was thrilling...and perplexing. Would she leave Richie behind?

With so many wonderful choices, how could she possibly make a decision?