Down By The Riverside: A Santa Eli Story (The Places That Remember)

Sometimes the places meant to heal you don’t bother asking permission.

Astrid is running from a past she can’t undo and a future she isn’t sure she deserves. Eli Walker is traveling Georgia’s backroads in a vintage red truck, carrying a Santa suit, a lifetime of stories, and an unusual gift for hearing what people rarely tell anyone else.

When their paths cross, an unexpected journey begins—through small Southern towns, moss-draped riverbanks, Savannah squares, Christmas traditions, and the complicated work of finding a way home.

Down By The Riverside is a warm Southern Christmas novel about recovery, second chances, chosen family, and the people and places that remember us when we have trouble remembering ourselves.

Some places remember history. The best ones remember hope.

Book One of The Places That Remember.

Beth Volpert Johansen is the founder of FreelanceBeth Studios, an independent storytelling company built on one conviction: the most memorable stories begin with real people.A veteran journalist, educator, and author, Beth has spent more than three decades listening to, reporting, and writing the stories people remember-the ones passed around family tables, preserved in communities, and carried from one generation to the next. Her work has taken many forms, including books, documentaries, digital media, photography, podcasts, classrooms, and live events, all connected by a belief that storytelling can preserve what matters and help people find hope.Down By the Riverside: A Santa Eli Story is the first novel in The Places That Remember, Beth's series of Southern journey stories where history, faith, redemption, and the people who quietly change our lives share the same front porch. Through FreelanceBeth Studios, she continues that work across books, documentaries, educational resources, digital storytelling, and community projects.Beth is also an educator who has spent years teaching students-from all over the world-to find and tell their own stories. When she isn't writing or teaching, she travels back roads with her husband, musician Eric Johansen, following her curiosity toward small towns, forgotten places, local history, good music, and the people willing to stop and talk awhile. She can usually be found with a notebook, a camera, a cup of strong tea, and one more question.Because some places remember history. The best ones remember hope.