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"A reflective tale of growing up creative in a stifling environment and finding true love." -Kirkus Reviews
Growing up in a strict Utah farm family during the Great Depression, Irene Larsen copes with her family's hardship by playing piano. Even after an unthinkable tragedy strikes, Irene clings to her dream of becoming a musician. When a neighbor's farm is foreclosed, Irene's brother marries the neighbor's daughter, who moves in with the Larsens and coaches Irene into winning leading roles in musicals. Clashing with her mother, who dismisses her ambition as a waste of time and urges her to become a farmer's wife, Irene leaves home.
During a summer gig at Zion National Park, where Irene sings in a variety show for Depression-weary tourists, she meets professional dancer Spike, a maverick who might be her ticket to a musical career. But ultimately she must decide whether pursuing her dream justifies its steep price: losing her home and family.
Alternating between Irene's ninetieth year in 2006 at an assisted living home and her coming-of-age in the thirties, Waltz in Swing Time is a poignant tale of mother-daughter relationships, finding hope amidst loss, and forging an independent path, against all odds.
About the author
Jill Caugherty is the author of the debut historical novel Waltz in Swing Time, set in Depression-era Utah. Her short stories have been published in 805Lit, Oyster River Pages, The Potato Soup Journal, The Prospectus Blog, and The Magazine of History and Fiction. After holding software development, product management, and marketing positions in the high tech industry for nearly thirty years, she now writes full time. Jill is a member of the Women's Fiction Writers' Association and the North Carolina Writers' Network. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband and daughter. Please visit https://www.jillcaugherty.com for more information.
