Theis is the story of three generations of the Wicker family. This saga begins in 1924, and continues through the present.
This story follows the lives of Edgil & Minnie "Griffith" Wicker from the beautiful hills of Kentucky to their new lives in Indiana during WWII. They would have fifteen children, four of which they would lose to illness as toddlers. Their life was one of hard work, faith, and the ability to overcome the hardships of the era.
The story continues with AnnaBelle, the second child, and first daughter of Edgil & Minnie. As a young wife, she would learn the true nature of the man she loved. He was not who he appeared to be. Don was still married to his first wife when he met, and then married, AnnaBelle. This, along with his addiction to women and alcohol, would lead her down a path to heartbreak. Her spirit would bounce, only to marry a second time to a man that ended up being a nightmare for her, and her two small daughters. After almost losing one daughter to his wrath, she would divorce him and never marry again. She loved to move, this led her and her daughters to many interesting places, and interesting people, including the DiMaggio family in San Francisco, and various stars AnnaBelle would meet along her way.
The story reaches into the life of the author, Carolyn. Here things take a different turn. Always a dreamer, she looks for love when love already exists for her. This would lead her into an affair that ended badly for the one innocent in the fray of it all. He loved her enough to give up his life for her. She will always live with the haunting spirit of his love, and the dreams that never end.
There is poetry and timeline photos included in the book, some dating to the 1920's . It is hoped the photos will bring the characters to life for the readers.
Excerpt
You never knew what was going to happen in that house. Looking back, some things are humorous. Once, Mom and Jim went to Sears and bought Kathy and I a new bedroom set. It was a beautiful thing to behold. New twin beds, dressers, even a corner desk with a chair. The set was delivered on a Saturday morning, everything looked good. Then, they started to argue about the arrangement of the furniture. Kathy and I just looked at each other, knowing full well, we would never sleep in our new beds, work at our new desk, or sit in the new chair. We were right; Sears came back that evening and picked it up.
Things stayed the same until about a month after my fourteenth birthday, which wasn’t long after Mom spotted the bruises. Soon our lives would take another turn, one in a series of many.
The end for their marriage came on the evening that “daddy dearest” came very close to killing Kathy. It was the Saturday night before Mothers Day. That morning, everything had been fine. (This should have sent up big red flags on a Saturday.) Mom took Kathy and me shopping for new dresses for a dance at school. It would have been our first school dance.
I don’t even know what started the fight after we returned home, but, step dad wasn’t happy at all. He and Mom argued until it escalated past talk. The next thing I knew, he said we had to go to bed without supper. Mom told him there was no way we were going to bed without supper. This made more sense to me; I had no idea what we had done. When Mom opened a can of soup, he immediately went to the garage and pulled the main electrical switch so Mom couldn’t heat it up. So, Mom took a box of cereal from the cabinet, the milk from the refrigerator, and fixed us each a bowl of cereal. Evidently, that was what pushed him over the edge. In a flash, there were cheerios, milk and bowls all over the countertop and floor. They started screaming, and calling each other names that I had never heard before. I think we all knew this was going to end very badly; there was no other way out.
I went to the bathroom, nerves I suppose, or to get away. They were still screaming, and then I heard someone being shoved against the walls out side the bathroom door. My heart was in my throat, they had never come to blows before. I hurried as fast as I could, but they were already through the kitchen and out in the garage when I opened the bathroom door. I ran as fast as I could to Mom, she was on Jim’s back, trying to pull him off Kathy. He had her bent over backwards over the trunk of the car, choking her. There was no way Mom was going to stop him. He was not only crazy, he was twice Moms size. I started to yell for the neighbors to help us. It was the first and last time I would ever yell for help. I knew the neighbors heard my pleas, but no one came forth. I would remember that for a long, long time.
I thought there was no saving Kathy, she was turning blue. Mom was desperately screaming for help by now. Then suddenly, a miracle happened, the doorbell rang. We found out later that the man at the door was a jeweler. He had repaired Jims watch, happened to be in the neighborhood, and decided to drop it off. Isn’t that unbelievable? A jeweler, in the neighborhood on a Saturday night. That’s why it was nothing short of a miracle.
Anyway, as soon as the doorbell rang he let go of her, went back in the house, and answered the door. As soon as Kathy caught her breath we started to run. We ran across the yard and down the alley, finally reaching one of our friend’s houses about two blocks away. They called the police.
The officers took us back to the house to retrieve some of our clothing. There he sat, watching television as though nothing had happened. It was unbelievable. After gathering some of our belongings, we were taken to a motel, where we ended up staying for the next three days.
Destiny's Daughter by Frances Altman highlights events in the life of Mary Edwards Walker, maverick suffragist, Civil War doctor and only woman Medal of Honor recipient.
