{"product_id":"the-bicycle-messenger-9798887091228","title":"The Bicycle Messenger","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the 1970s, when a distant cousin dies unexpectedly, Mary Ellen and Charles Hawley agree to take his seven-year-old son Steven into their home. Steven's birth mother, a Polish immigrant, has schizophrenia and can't assume custody. But in a last traumatic visit, she convinces her son that a mysterious presence called the bicycle messenger has followed him into his new life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYears later, Steven, a recovering alcoholic with a history of bipolar disorder, is working as a short-order cook. To Megan Helmsworth, a college student waiting tables, he is a sweet, doting boyfriend. But Steven becomes more and more preoccupied with his lost family of origin, and when a manic swing sends him on a quixotic journey to Poland, Megan seizes her chance to escape. In a well-meaning attempt to shelter her fragile son, Mary Ellen agrees to harbor a secret no mother should ever keep.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTold through the eyes of the three women who love Steven best-Mary Ellen, Megan, and his adoptive sister Margaret-\u003cem\u003eThe Bicycle Messenger \u003c\/em\u003eis a story of generational trauma that stretches from the last days of the Kraków ghetto in 1942 all the way to 2016. But it is also a story of unexpected grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Chrism Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/04\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798887091228\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 308\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.71lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.77d","brand":"Joan Elizabeth Bauer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51474271764661,"sku":"9798887091228","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_7cc12a5e-8495-47f1-adc9-87dba629c1e2.jpg?v=1754405510","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-bicycle-messenger-9798887091228","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}