Widowed senior Heidi Allen knows all about ageism. When she takes up pickleball in her seventies, she is an easy target for the hotshot younger players. Undeterred, she sticks with it, hoping to find a dashing partner and a new lease on life. The game also provides an escape from the grip of her high maintenance mother, a Holocaust survivor nearing her final days. Ever the perfectionist, Heidi hires the local pro to improve her game. But one summer night during a coaching session, Heidi and a pickleball friend are drawn into a toxic court encounter. As Heidi reckons with her dying mother's past, she must also contend with the catastrophic fallout from that one explosive incident.

Expect the unexpected when the Holocaust meets pickleball at the courts on Maple Drive.

Gail Benick is the published author of two works of fiction, The Girl Who Was Born That Way (2015) and Memory’s Shadow (2021). Her short stories and personal essays have appeared in Canadian literary journals and media outlets. A retired professor from Sheridan College, she currently teaches memoir writing for seniors in Toronto. www.gailbenick.com

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