A family saga spanning four generations, this is particularly the story of Helen Mary Manning O'Dell and her struggle to break the stranglehold of her family and her church on her life.
Born during the Depression in a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood, Helen is married young to a rookie fireman, an ex-Marine and would-be tough guy with a soft heart. She has four children by the time she is 25. Before she is 30, she discovers that it is not enough for her to be a housewife and mother. She decides to go to college and enter a new world. In a society revolving around a rigid religious and social structure, her venture into freedom has a price.
But her hold on her own life and her struggle to keep the family demons at bay are the center of the story. Her life is an uphill battle, but every day survived is its own affirmation.
Genre: General Fiction
Born during the Depression in a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood, Helen is married young to a rookie fireman, an ex-Marine and would-be tough guy with a soft heart. She has four children by the time she is 25. Before she is 30, she discovers that it is not enough for her to be a housewife and mother. She decides to go to college and enter a new world. In a society revolving around a rigid religious and social structure, her venture into freedom has a price.
But her hold on her own life and her struggle to keep the family demons at bay are the center of the story. Her life is an uphill battle, but every day survived is its own affirmation.
Genre: General Fiction
Used availability for Margaret Wander Bonanno's Ember Days