Outskirts Press, INC.

Broken Hearts and Mended Lives

Sitting at her desk across from an ebony framed photograph of Jimmy and herself as adorable children, Luana takes pen in hand and begins writing Jimmy’s obituary. In recapturing the memories of their early shared lives, she comes to a profound understanding for, and the inevitability of, Jimmy’s untimely death due to his addiction to alcohol.What begins as a reverie about Jimmy becomes a vibrant story of American life during and after WWII. Using her own childhood diaries, photographs, and an indelible memory, Luana weaves a moving and tender rendition of ordinary daily life, in extraordinary times, which reads like a compelling piece of literary fiction. The narrative opens in San Francisco shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Through the writer's eyes we join Jimmy and Luana as they travel hand in hand where situations take them and the times demand they go. Destiny is their guide and fate their challenge.

Guided by the streams of light from their grandma's flashlight making a path through the tall grass, the two make their way home. That night Jimmy crawls into bed with Luana and dreams of gypsies and treasures. Luana watches the light from the street lamp cast patterns across the room. Luana worries about the consequences of going to the gypsy camp and feels guilty. She asks Jesus to forgive her for not listening to her grandmother. She says their prayers as Jimmy sleeps, contented as a lamb, in her arms.