In 1948, Art and Nan Kellam became the owners of Placentia Island, located two miles off the coast of Maine. The couple made the move to get away from other people and stresses. Author Peter P. Blanchard III, the man who wrote the nationally released book "We Were an Island: The Maine Life of Art & Nan Kellam," believes the subjects of his work had the right idea - even if most people can't follow in their footsteps in a literal sense.
"It's a little unusual to ask an everyday person to find an island and to purchase it," he said. "For the everyday person, it's possible to create an island of your own. It could be a space. It could be a room. It could be an inner space that you retreat to. It's a place where your will and your person is basically unassailable. It's a strong hold, and it can be imaginary."
Blanchard calls his story "a romance" because it tells the tale of a couple who set a course for themselves and stuck to it for a few decades. By spending so much time with each other, Blanchard believes the couple lived a life that many would dream of having.
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"It really takes a lot of give and take and knowledge of the other person to make it work," he said. "Somehow, they figured it out ... to just be respectful of one another and to back away if the other needed space. That's the ultimate challenge of living and working in close quarters year round on an offshore island for 36 years."
The couple managed to get away from stresses of off-island life. However, they still had each other to deal with. They each needed their own space away from one another, and they found that space on the island.
"For the everyday couple, there should be a way for them to realize the importance of being alone, and it's not a failure of a relationship," Blanchard said. "At times, they do need to be separate. One may want to go on a trip and the other stays back. To recognize that is a big point. (The Kellams) had to go all the way to an island to accomplish that, but you can do that basically on the home turf."
For more information, find the book on amazon.com.