in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good.

Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. Unlikely alliances form, and the mystery of Scott's affliction brings out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.įrom the master storyteller Stephen King comes this compelling tale about finding common ground despite differences, a magical story with deep resonance for our time. Missy may be warm and friendly, but Deirdre is as cold as ice.Īs the town prepares for its annual Thanksgiving 12K run, Scott begins to understand the prejudices the women face, and tries to help. And now Scott seems trapped in a feud with the couple over their dogs dropping their business on his lawn. Scott also has new neighbors who have opened a 'fine dining experience' in town, although it's an experience being shunned by the locals: Deirdre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don't exactly conform to a lifestyle the community approves of. That's why Scott Carey wants to confide only in his friend Doctor Bob Ellis about his strange condition he's losing weight without getting thinner, and the scales register the same whether he is in his clothes or out of them, no matter how heavy they are.

Castle Rock is a small town, where word gets around quickly.

Elevation book review