Two women, one-hundred years apart.
Sometimes the journey is as important as the destination.
Katie Brown enjoys Eldercare, but knows it’s a mistake to get involved when she could be transferred at any time. Still, with such an interesting patient as Granny, along with a loving church family nearby, this particular assignment has made it tough to stay indifferent.
Then one day she hears of a missing manuscript, written by Granny’s own mother decades ago. As an aspiring writer, Katie is fascinated, and sets out to find it.
In her search she may find more than just an old story. She may find some answers for herself, too.
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The story behind the Story:
The author, Sherry Chamblee, is also the full-time caregiver for her husband’s grandmother. His great-grandmother (Granny’s mom – Rachel Clark Kennedy) was an aspiring author when she wasn’t being a nurse. Back in the early 1900s she wrote books – lots of them. She had at least one full-length novel, wrapped and sealed and sent to herself in the mail. Since the family saw it last, they’d lost track of it. The author got it into her head to look for this manuscript.
Back in February of this year (2014), we were looking for it (read ‘searching frantically through an old shed’) when we found a bin full of Granny’s mother’s things. In that bin was an old nurse’s registration certificate belonging to Rachel Clark – Granny’s mom. Paper-clipped to that certificate were several pages of typewriting paper – she’d written a short story, titled The Signal. Turns out it’s about 3000 words long, but complete. The only complete story of hers that has been found, so far.
The certificate is dated December 2, 1914. One hundred years ago. It’s safe to assume the story paper-clipped to it was written in the same year, or very close to it.
Her complete manuscript is included in ‘Rachel’s Story’, just as she had it 100 years ago, in chapter 5, as it’s being read to her own daughter.
This is a very short story at only a little over 8,000 words.
I have only edited the spelling in her part of this story, so as to keep her unique voice throughout. This is why readers may find a few grammatical errors in that chapter, and/or outdated words. This part was indeed written one hundred years ago, and is still an unpolished work, though still very enjoyable to read.
All proceeds from this book will go to help in the care of Rachel’s daughter, my husband’s grandmother.
