Publication Date: Feb 2018
Blurb:
In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters–Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa–a chance at a better life.
But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without–and what they are willing to do about it.
What To Expect:
Readers can expect a historical fiction novel about a mortician and his family, living in Philadelphia during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918. This is a story about survival, grief, resilience and hope in the midst of great tragedy.
Content Warnings:
Language: Mild – Damn x2, “shut the hell up” x1
Sexual Content: Closed Door – Passionate kissing
Violence: Moderate – Descriptions of death are prevalent throughout the story (very heavy during the first half of the book). Graphic descriptions of dead bodies and the embalming process (including device to remove organs, draining blood from corpses, repairing injuries caused by fatal accidents). Descriptions of dead or violently ill children. Teen girl’s suicide attempt is described, including rope burns around her neck.
Substance Use: Moderate: cigars are smoked throughout the story, cigarettes are mentioned several times in second half of story. A character visits a speakeasy several times, references to bootleg whiskey and liquor during prohibition
Prejudices: Mild – Prejudice against German Americans mentioned in passing, character is referred to as a “hun”
Religious Themes: References to death and heaven throughout the book. Not a religious story overall.
Other Topics: PTSD (mild), Death, including child death (heavy), grief, mental illness
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