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Carson City Author P.W. Bergman to Discuss Nevada Suspense Novel “The Better Half” at Barnes & Noble in Reno on May 10th
May 10, 2025 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
On Saturday May 10, at 1 p.m., Barnes & Noble Books Reno welcomes Carson City author P.W. Borgman for a reading and discussion of her newest novel, The Better Half. The historical suspense novel, set in the Reno divorce colony of the 1950s, tells the story of Bettye Christian, a Stewart Indian School runaway turned Chicago socialite who’s forced to return to Nevada to escape a violent marriage.
“For the first half of the 20th Century, Nevada was the only place to obtain a no-fault divorce,” says Borgman. “The divorce ranches were exclusive hideaways for guests to spend their six-week residency.”
Borgman was inspired by reading The Divorce Seekers, a memoir of a Nevada dude wrangler by Sandra McGee and Bill McGee, who worked at Washoe Valley’s Flying M E, the most storied of the divorce ranches. McGee and Borgman recently joined forces to collaborate on a screenplay, citing the surge of interest in producing film projects in the Silver State.
Borgman’s other principal inspiration came from learning the history of the Stewart School in Carson City. The novel’s fictional family drama is based on historical accounts of student experiences at the school in the 1920s to 1930s. Borgman’s meticulous research has won praise from fellow Nevada history buffs.
The author is donating profits from retail sales of her book to the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. https://boardingschoolhealing.org
For more information about the author and her books, visit www.PWBorgman.com.
Barnes & Noble Reno is located at Meadow Wood Court, 5555 S. Virginia St.
