Former Hillsboro resident Kim Fairley was 24 when she fell in love with and married a man who was 57. Something about Vern – his quirkiness, his humor, his devilish smile – made her feel an immediate connection with him.

She quickly became pregnant, but instead of the idyllic interlude she'd imagined as she settled into married life and planned for their family, their love was soon tested by the ghosts of Vern's past – a town, a house, a family and a memory.

"Shooting Out the Lights: A Memoir" is Fairley's May-December love story that explores the ongoing, wrenching aftermath of gun violence and the healing that comes with confronting the past.

This age-gap marriage story offers an intimate peek inside a cultural taboo and shatters the clichés that accompany it.

The Highland County Historical Society has planned a book signing event for Aug. 13 from 3-4 p.m. at the Highland District Library. On Aug. 14, Fairley will be at the Highland County Historical Society's booth during Pioneer Days at the Scott House.

Kim Fairley is also the author of "Boreal Ties: Photographs and Two Diaries of the 1901 Peary Relief Expedition." She has a BFA from the University of Southern California and an MFA from the University of Michigan. A memoirist, Kim writes about her age-gap marriage and competitive swimming in the early years of Title IX. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. You can visit Kim at https://kimfairley.com/

To order "Shooting Out the Lights: A Memoir" visit https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Out-Lights-Kim-Fairley-ebook/dp/B08DKQQG8J.