BY JANN ALEXANDER
"Jann Alexander's blazingly alive novel Unspoken asks how do we keep a family intact? Especially during a time of upheaval and betrayal in the 1930s Dust Bowl? Here, in a story told by both a mother and her daughter, two people struggle to both understand their world and each other."
—CAROLINE LEAVITT, New York Times bestselling author of
Pictures of You and Days of Wonder
Upheaval, betrayal, estrangement, families lost and found, homelessness, and poverty are the themes we wake up to in today's headlines. In the 1930s, the Texas Dust Bowl was no different — with one exception. Nobody knew how to fix air you couldn't breathe.
A Farm Devastated.
A Dream Destroyed.
A Family Scattered.
And One Texas Girl Determined to Salvage
The Wreckage.
Ruby Lee Becker can’t breathe.
It’s 1935 in the heart of the Dust Bowl and the Becker family has clung to its Texas Panhandle farm through six years of drought, dying crops, and dust storms. On Black Sunday, the biggest blackest storm of them all threatens ten-year-old Ruby with deadly dust pneumonia and requires a drastic choice—one her mother, Willa Mae, will forever regret.
To survive, Ruby’s forced to leave the only place she’s ever known. Far from home in Waco, and worried her mother’s abandoned her, she’s determined to get back.
Even after twelve years, Willa Mae still clings to memories of her daughter. Unable to reunite with Ruby, she’s broken by their separation.
Through rollicking adventures and harrowing setbacks, the tenacious Ruby Lee embarks on her perilous quest for home—and faces her one unspoken fear.
Heart-wrenching and inspiring, the tale of Ruby Lee’s dogged perseverance and Willa Mae’s endless love for her daughter is drawn from what countless Texas daughters and mothers endured in the 1930s and 1940s. UNSPOKEN shines a light on women driven apart by disaster who bravely lean on one another, find comfort in remade families, and redefine what home means.
Reminds me, in tone, of Texas classics like The Time it Never Rained and Giant. I loved it. Alexander is a great new talent in the genre of Texana.
—W. F. STRONG
author, Stories From Texas, and radio commentator for NPR Texas
Fans of Kristen Hannah’s Four Winds will devour Unspoken, Jann Alexander’s tale of Ruby Lee’s gritty Texas Dust Bowl journey.
—CAM TORRENS
award-winning author of the Tyler Zahn suspense series
With her intelligence, feistiness, and relentless determination, Ruby endures, learns, and evolves into a woman to be dealt with. Very highly recommended!
—A. J. MCCARTHY
international best-selling author, Charlie & Simm mystery series
