FARMINGTON — Former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe will talk about her new book and sign copies during an Aug. 13 visit to two downtown businesses.

Snowe will discuss her book, “Fighting for Common Ground: How We Can Fix the Stalemate in Congress” from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Homestead Bakery.  The talk will be followed by questions and answers. Seating is limited to 100 and opens at 3:30 p.m.

A book signing and reception will follow from 5 to 6 p.m. across the street at Devaney Doak & Garrett Booksellers.

The Homestead Bakery and DDG Booksellers are located on upper Broadway  in Downtown Farmington. Refreshments will be available at both locations. Call DDG at 778-3454 for more information.

An outspoken centrist, Snowe stunned Washington in February 2012 when she announced she would not seek a fourth term and offered a sharp rebuke to the Senate, citing the dispiriting gridlock and polarization.

After serving in the legislative branch at the state and federal levels for 40 years, including 18 years in the U.S. Senate, she explained that Washington wasn’t solving the big problems.

In her book, she explores the roots of her belief in principled policymaking and bipartisan compromise. A leading moderate with a reputation for crossing the aisle, Snowe will propose solutions for bridging the partisan divide in Washington, most notably through a citizens’ movement to hold elected officials accountable.

She recounts how the tragedies and triumphs of her personal story helped shape her political approach. Born in Augusta, she was orphaned at age 9 and raised by an aunt and uncle. When she was 26, her husband, a Maine state representative, was killed in an auto accident. Already dedicated to public service, she ran for and won her husband’s seat.

The book includes anecdotes from throughout her career, and addresses her working relationships with Presidents Reagan through Obama, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Majority Leader Bob Dole, and others. As a senior member of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, the high-profile Commerce and Intelligence Committees, and the Senate Small Business Committee, she has been directly involved with the most talked-about legislative challenges of recent decades: the country’s response to 9/11; the 2008 financial crisis; the Affordable Healthcare Act; and the debt ceiling debacle.

Her book draws on the lessons she’s learned as a policymaker, and the frustration she shares with the American people about the government’s dwindling productivity. Snowe passionately argues that the government has now lost its way, shows how this happened, and proposes ways for the world’s greatest deliberative body to, once again, fulfill its mission.

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