novels
Novels by Donna Jean
Faded Genes: Memories of a Motherless Daughter
Volume 2 | ISBN: 978-0-97031777-3-5
Summary:
For most, childhood is a carefree time. But for Donna Jean, childhood is anything but carefree. Her mother dies in childbirth in 1960, leaving seven-year-old Donna Jean and her 10 brothers and sisters to be raised in poverty by their overwhelmed father. Growing up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, she and her siblings struggle to overcome their grief. Donna Jean vows never to have children of her own, fearful that her strong resemblance to her mother means that she, too, will die in childbirth.
This portrait of her journey from grief-stricken child to wife and eventually mother is profoundly moving. Whether or not you’ve dealt with loss, Donna Jean's story will strike a chord within you.
Read Chapter One Now! (PDF) | $12.95* + $4.95 S&H
If Mama Were Here: Living Without Mama
Volume 1 | ISBN: 978-0-97031777-0-0
Summary:
When her mother dies during childbirth, seven-year-old Donna Jean tries to understand where her mother has gone while her father struggles to raise his eleven children, seven of whom are under the age of nine. This struggle is made worse by the poverty pervading their home and the State's insistence that the younger children be placed with other families. Determined not to let his family be broken up and mourning the untimely death of his wife, he tries his hardest to keep Donna Jean and her siblings in line. However, like Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables, Donna Jean has a talent for making mischief.
Told in retrospect while, as an adult, Donna Jean attends a grief workshop to try to deal with the lingering pain of her mother's death. This poignant story will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.
Read Chapter One Now! (PDF) | $13.95* + $4.95 S&H
Order Both Volumes and Save!
Purchase If Mama Were Here: Living Without Mama and Faded Genes: Memories of a Motherless Daughter together and save on the book prices and shipping!
Volumes 1 & 2: $25.00* + $7.95 S&H
*Plus Michigan sales tax, if applicable.