Betty Vickers

Walkin' the Floor Betty Vickers

Inthe snowy Indiana Spring of 1942, rambling Jake Carpenter sets out for Florida with his family packed like a bunch of Okies into a Model A Ford. Hepromises a land flowing with milk and honey where they'll never have to moveagain. Disintegration of the family looms as the vows crumble and Jake spiralsdownward into a quagmire of alcoholism and sociopathicbehavior, but his family refuses to drown with him. This poignant story aboutthe survival of a family suffering from poverty and abuse as seen through theeyes of the overwhelmed mother, Ginny, and her children, the sassy Betty jean,the plucky Jimmy and little sister Kitty, is also a story of love, loyalty andtriumph. It is funny, frightening and utterly absorbing as it catapults thereader into a maelstrom of escapades, hazards and heart-wrenching menace ofCarpenter family life in the Deep South during World War IIand its aftermath. This story will profoundly change your perspective on whatit means to be alive and struggling in an imperfect world, and thankful thattimes have, indeed, changed.