Michael Leppert places The Edge of Motherland inside one of the most unsettled periods in recent American memory, but the novel keeps its attention on something intimate: a friendship between two Indianapolis coworkers whose differences in age, race, and experience might ordinarily have kept their lives separate. Music, poetry, memory, and place become part of the language through which they begin to understand one another, while the upheaval of 2020 forces both men to reconsider what they believe about home, identity, and belonging.
Literary Fiction
Date Published: May 14, 2026
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial reckoning of 2020, two unlikely friends are forced to confront what home really means.
A young Black man and a middle-aged White man meet through the Indianapolis tech company where they both work. Though separated by age, race, and life experience, they discover a powerful connection through music, poetry, and the emotional landscapes that have shaped them. What begins as an unusual friendship becomes something deeper as both men find themselves questioning the world around them—and their place within it.
Disillusioned by their state’s response to the pandemic and shaken by the racial strife unfolding across the country, the two men leave Indianapolis on a transformative journey. Against the eerie backdrop of a fractured America, they face isolation, grief, uncertainty, and the complicated truths that define love, loyalty, friendship, and identity.
As the road carries them away from everything familiar, they begin to reevaluate their beliefs, their histories, and the meaning of belonging. Through shared adversity, conversation, art, and memory, they forge a bond that challenges them to see themselves—and each other—with greater honesty and compassion.
The Edge of Motherland by Michael Leppert is a moving work of cultural heritage fiction for readers who appreciate character-driven literary fiction, contemporary historical fiction, stories of unlikely friendship, and novels that explore race, resilience, connection, and hope during uncertain times.
What makes The Edge of Motherland especially interesting is the way Leppert brings the enormous social upheaval of 2020 down to the scale of two people trying to understand each other. Their friendship develops across differences in age, race, and lived experience, while music, poetry, memory, and place give them ways to communicate that extend beyond the circumstances that first brought them together. The novel's emphasis on belonging adds another layer: both men must examine not only where they feel at home, but what home means when familiar assumptions no longer feel secure.
Readers who prefer literary fiction built around conversation, character, and complicated relationships should find much to consider in The Edge of Motherland. It is also well suited to those interested in fiction about the social and emotional consequences of 2020, particularly stories that examine race, identity, and belonging through individual lives rather than from a distance. The importance of music and poetry to the friendship may also resonate with readers who appreciate novels in which art becomes part of how characters make sense of themselves and one another.
Michael Leppert is an award-winning lecturer, columnist, essayist, and author based in Indianapolis, Indiana. A longtime communicator, public affairs professional, and educator, Leppert brings decades of experience in government, policy, business, and storytelling to his work.
He teaches speech and writing at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and serves as an adjunct professor at IU’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He earned his B.S. in Public Affairs from Indiana University and his M.S. in Communication from Northwestern University, building a career rooted in the two fields that have shaped his life: government and communication.
Before entering academia and writing, Leppert spent thirteen years in public service for the State of Indiana. His career began at the Indiana Boys School, where he worked for five years and later served as program manager in the Intensive Treatment Unit. He then spent eight years at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, ultimately serving as Executive Director of the IURC. In that role, he became known for his ability to explain complex and often controversial issues with clarity, insight, and accessibility.
After leaving state government in 2002, Leppert spent two decades as a private-sector lobbyist, public affairs consultant, and communications advisor, working with corporations, nonprofits, government leaders, community organizations, and business executives to help advance strategic priorities. His experience with public policy, political systems, and institutional decision-making has deeply informed his fiction and nonfiction writing.
Leppert began writing a weekly column in 2014, with his work appearing in newspapers throughout Indiana. His first book, Contrary to Popular Belief: A Chronicle of a Progressive in Indiana, was published in 2016. His novel Flipping the Circle, published by Greenleaf Book Group in 2021, is a political thriller that draws from his deep knowledge of Indiana politics, lobbying, and government culture. His fiction explores power, corruption, identity, morality, and the complicated human stories behind public life.
At the heart of Leppert’s work is a passion for helping people understand complicated ideas through story. Whether in the classroom, in public commentary, or on the page, he is driven by the belief that storytelling can bring clarity, challenge assumptions, and create meaningful connection.
Michael lives in a historic neighborhood in downtown Indianapolis with his wife, Amy Levander, and their rescue dog, Birdie. He has two adult children, Alex and Jack. He and Amy are competitive golfers, beach walkers, and enthusiastic lovers of live music, comedy, and theater.
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At the center of The Edge of Motherland is a question that becomes increasingly difficult for its two friends to answer: what makes a place—or another person—feel like home? Leppert approaches that question through the specific pressures of 2020, but also through the quieter forces that shape identity over a lifetime: memory, art, conversation, geography, and the assumptions people carry into relationships. That emphasis gives the novel room to explore a divided moment without losing sight of the individuals trying to live through it, making this a thoughtful choice for readers interested in friendship, belonging, and the complicated work of understanding someone whose life has followed a very different path.
