By Monica Sager | msager@eagletribune.com – November 6, 2023:

Katie Keisling found a van bench on the Facebook page Buy Nothing North Andover, which offers members a way to give and receive, share or lend, at no cost.

Her brother-in-law refurbished it, building the arms and feet to make a couch.

Now that couch sits right at the front of her new bookstore in North Andover, named in its honor, The Purple Couch.

Keisling spent 25 years working with software for hotels, meetings and events. She traveled around the world, but she was missing the time with her own family, she said.

And so Keisling turned to the bookstore.

Purple Couch, at 350 Winthrop Avenue, hosted its grand-opening Oct. 21 and now offers a variety of books, from history to children’s literature, while keeping the independent bookstore dream alive.

Click here to read the full article by Monica Sager from the November 6, 2023 Eagle-Tribune.