Noa's Arc
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Chapter 1 Feeling both excited and nervous about her upcoming job interview, Rachel Kahn hopped off the sleek Acela train at Washington’s Union Station. She rolled her small suitcase to the exit and made her way to the taxi stand out front. A fresh, sunny, day in October. Mid-morning was a good time to catch a cab -- few commuters, few civil servants. Fifth in line, she was soon on her way to the Department of Justice. In the cab she felt her heart thumping as she brushed a piece of lint off her suit jacket. She wanted a job at Justice, even though it meant leaving New York after so many years, saying goodbye to her friends from college and law school, and giving up her spacious apartment, more so now that Larry had moved to New Haven. It was time for something different, time to step away from a high-paying but empty job, a socially acceptable but also unrewarding relationship, a predictable life totally lacking in passion. Being risk adverse had held her back for too long. Well, first things first. She took a deep breath. She'd see what kind of job offer she got before worrying about all the rest. Her appointment was with Todd Winston, the Director of Human Resources. On her behalf, Larry had called Winston, his old law school buddy, which got her the meeting with the man at the top. Winston, who had previously worked in several posts at Justice, reputedly knew the character and personnel of most bureaus intimately. Stopping in a restroom on her way to HR, Rachel pinned up her shoulder-length, blonde-streaked hair in a chignon, aiming for her most professional look. She pulled a rose-colored scarf out of her suitcase, wound it around her neck, and let it hang loosely over her pink silk blouse and gray gabardine suit jacket. Rose lipstick and a light squeeze of musky cologne. She glanced in the mirror, thrust back her shoulders, and reminded herself that, if the interview went poorly, she had other options besides DOJ.
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About the Book
Attorney Rachel Kahn, seeking a new life, takes her middle name, Noa, as her first name. In her mid-thirties, she leaves private practice in New York to work at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. on halting the illegal opioid trade. Working with Tony Palmer, a colleague from the CDC in Atlanta, she helps track drug-dealers in San Francisco and discovers new approaches in Seattle and Vancouver to confronting addiction, leading her to introducing harm reduction practices on Indian reservations where drug abuse is rampant. Noa's journey takes her from the war on drugs to harm reduction and eventually to drug legalization. Both Noa and Tony deal with family loss from illegal drugs. Their efforts to heal their families, as well as to assist abusers, result in a bond that evolves into love.
About the Author
In her many novels, Ellen Boneparth usually features a woman who discovers a social problem and becomes embroiled in ways to confront it. Boneparth draws on her experiences working in government, academia and diplomacy. She also frequently draws on her domestic and overseas travels to provide foreign locations and unusual environments. In NOA's ARC, the heroine's journey to confront drug addiction takes her from New York to Washington, D.C., to the Cherokee reservation in Oklahoma, and to drug programs in the Northwest and Canada.