Historian Robin Foster confronts the anxiety of a pandemic-stricken world during early days of the Covid shutdowns and travels the American West to unearth powerful stories of tenacious women who overcame their own hardships, weaving a rich tapestry of grit, resilience, and haunting memories.

"Grit and Ghosts is for anyone who presses against the boundaries of their lives. With impressive depth, Foster uncovers amazing details about her subjects' lives as she weaves together unforgettable stories of bravery, risk, and passion." — Chelsea Hodson, author of Tonight I'm Someone Else

"Grit and Ghosts looks outward and inward: at the marks its eight women have left on the world, and the marks the world leaves on women who dream big. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this book illuminates stories that deserve to be told."  — Gwen Kirby, author of Shit Cassandra Saw

Robin Foster studied creative writing at Bennington Writing Seminars and has a PhD in American Studies from Rutgers University-Newark. In addition to Grit and Ghosts, she is the author of Carl Van Doren: A Man of Ideas, National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist for 2019 and The Age of Sail in the Age of Aquarius: the South Street Seaport and the Crisis of the Sixties. Foster lives in Portland, Maine and has enjoyed summers on the Vineyard for almost 40 years at her family’s home in Oak Bluffs.