Outskirts Press, INC.

A Stunning Story of Love, Death, and Survival on the Kansas Prairie

On Ash Wednesday, 1926, a young couple, Alex and Theresa, left their six children home on the farm. They drove through heavy rains to attend Mass in town. That’s when the temperature dropped fast, and the heavy rain became a snowy windswept blizzard. Only one of them would survive that night. The terrible loss upended the lives of this working-class family in ways no one could have expected. Through it all, the ironclad bonds of love held them together as they endured the Great Depression and an unceasing string of trials, losses, and hardships. Based on actual events, When I Was a Child documents the inner strength, courage, and sheer grit that steadied the couple’s children through loss, economic crises, tornados, dust storms and war. Focusing on the extraordinary life of Louis Pfeifer, this vividly rendered book juxtaposes vignettes of a tragic past—the loss of a mother, father, and grandmother—against Louis’s harrowing experiences as an 82nd Airborne paratrooper and prisoner of war during World War II. What emerges is an inspirational story of love and family bonds as Louis and his siblings grow up to become devoted, successful parents—despite all odds. Powerful, honest, and unflinching, When I Was a Child is about the suffering that life inflicts—and the bravery that gets us to the other side, becoming much wiser and stronger along the way.