Veda - Paperback

by Beckett Gladney (Illustrator), Ellen Gardner (Author)

If Veda's mama hadn't pounded religion into her "the way she pounded the dirt out of Papa's overalls" she probably wouldn't have married Raymond in the first place. It's the Great Depression and jobs are scarce, but it seems to Veda that Raymond uses religion as an excuse for why he can't find work. He can't work on the Sabbath, he can't work around crude or vulgar men, and he will not join a union. After years of financial hardship, four babies, and what Raymond calls "Veda's accident", Veda defies her church and files for divorce. The mysterious loss of her second husband is devastating and in order to raise her kids, she does things she is not proud of. Over the years she has blamed the church, Raymond, fate, and herself for her troubles, but it is Charlie's recklessness that swallows up every bit of pride she has left.

Author Biography

Ellen was born in Oregon where her father followed crops looking for work and her mother did whatever she could to keep food on the table. She married young and while raising her own family, worked at a variety of jobs in insurance, banking, and government, as well as taking care of the paperwork end of her husband's contracting business. After her children were grown, and she was remarried, she seized the opportunity for a college education. Indulging her love for liberal arts, she discovered a passion for writing. Now retired she splits her time between writing and her other passion, photography. She lives in Southern Oregon with her husband and his cat from a previous marriage.