It was a tough life for the Scottish Sharp family at the turn of the twentieth century. Coal miners, they were exempt from the World War I draft. Frank, the fourth of five sons, was the only one that went off to war. Luckily, he survived the trenches, only to return to poor job prospects and poorer wages. When most of the family sailed across the Atlantic in search of a better life, Frank stayed behind for a while... for a little too long, it so happened. A victim of the 1924 Immigration Act, he was barred from immigrating to the US until October, 1929. Three weeks after his quota number came up, the stock market crash occurred.Frank's story weaves through Detroit's rich history during the Great Depression, Prohibition, World War II, and the booming automotive industry starting in the 1950's and beyond. What Frank sacrifices to achieve material and career success takes its toll on his family and personal life. After all is said and done, this is the saga of a determined and ambitious man who was hell-bent on leaving his poverty-stricken past behind. Did he make the right choices? You decide.
Wendy Sura Thomson is a 5-star author of Summon the Tiger, The Third Order, The Man from Burnt Island, and Postcards from the Future (as a contributing author.) She has several more works underway. She lives in Michigan with her beloved Setters and covets sipping coffee outdoors first thing in the morning, rain or shine., listening to the waterfall and the birds and watching [often with amusement] the pups explore.
Even dreary, even in the depths of the Great Depression, joy could be had. It's all in the spirit of the day - nothing else.
Handmade gifts, crafted with love. It was a fine Christmas.
Book Excerpt
The Man from Burnt Island
It didn’t snow Christmas morning. It was overcast and rather dreary, but that didn’t dampen the spirits in the Sharp household. Frank had made a little wooden car for Jack out of some of the lumber in the back. It had been carefully sanded and decorated using a red-hot piece of metal to make dark burnt-brown door handles and wheel spokes. Margaret had knit Jack a new sweater in his favorite color – blue. Frank had also made a wooden box for Margaret with carved roses on the hinged top. It was perfectly crafted and obviously a labor of love. Margaret had knit Frank a pair of gloves and a new pair of thick wool socks. It was a fine Christmas.
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