Christi Pope

The grass isn't always greener... ...on the other side of the fence. In this sequel to Chronicles and Gossip of '54, the Burrows' family has accepted and adjusted to the loss of one son in the Korean War. Life has settled down for the family and they were all more content. Luke Burrows, the remaining son, had a dark winter after Mattie Griffith left town, but his thoughts and desire for her dwindled over time. He found that his life was happier without the turmoil that she stirred up. He began to realize that maybe she wasn't quite the good person that he had thought that she was, and he decided that what affection she gave him wasn't a fair trade-off for the upset that came along with it. Good fortune, both expected and unexpected, came Luke's way and he thought that his life was smoothing out at last. The Griffith family went through every day without Mattie. Her mother's opinion was that her oldest daughter had left with no concern at all for her whole family; she was only thinking about her own desires when she moved away and shut everyone else out of her new life. Her father had grown bitter toward his child and only said, "She made her bed, let her lie in it." Mattie found that life away from what she'd known wasn't quite as exciting as she'd dreamed that it would be. Daily life in the big city wasn't that much different than life in her small hometown, and for certain, was a great deal lonelier. Where were those new opportunities that she'd dreamed about? Those broader horizons? She started to wonder if what she'd done hadn't been a huge mistake, and in her solitary daydreams, began to be certain that Luke Burrows was just waiting with open arms for her to return. Mattie found out the hard way that she was sadly mistaken.

"It had only been two years since she went away. Two years, Daniel often thought. How did time go by so fast and so slowly at the same time?" Kitty Porter was gone but not forgotten by anyone. In this, the final book of the Porter family, you'll find that after Kitty's death, life went on; those left behind continued to do the best that they could. They all found that life is ever-changing, for the good and for the bad. Life can be a hard row to hoe. Sometimes, it's best to take life as it comes and look at difficulties as a challenge to your strength. The five Porter siblings dealt with heartache and happiness, obstacles and clear paths, and four kept going and made it through, while one is living in the land of uncloudy skies.

We all need someone that we can count on... Hello It's me, Kitty. I'm the one in the title of this book that I'm hoping you're going to read This is my story and my family's stories, too. Our lives are like anyone else's - we have our good times and our bad times. All of our stories are intertwined with others, especially woven tightly between parents and their kids. In this story, you'll learn about me and my five grown children. There are others in this tale that will make an impression on you, whether it's good or bad. There are some of both You'll meet Daniel, my achiever, a high-powered, successful man that blazed and then burned out; Nancy, my rebellious child, who's now finding a good place for herself; Phillip, my loving, dependable family man; Cynthia, a know-it-all from day one, who finally loosened up a little, and Douglas, the ruggedly adorable baby of the family, who's making his way in the world, one accomplishment at a time. We all found out that we can depend on each other when the chips are down. I hope that you enjoy this tale and are able to relate to it in some way And I sincerely hope you have someone to count on Love, Kitty

Looking Up From The Bottom is the story of a family that was almost permanently torn apart by regrettable errors in judgement that set off a dismal chain of events. A three-person family can be likened to a tripod - the family members holding each other up. Remove one of the legs and that family can fall. Shirley Harper and daughter, Alice, had lost their husband and father unexpectedly, and struggled to remain upright without him. Gene Michaels was by all accounts "an okay guy" and was welcomed into the family as the new third member. He made errors in judgement that threatened to ruin the family tripod. It was almost too late when he realized the regrettable mistakes that he had made. Everyone has something that they have done in the past, that, if they could have that chance, they would ask for a do-over. Certainly, Gene Michaels made bad choices that he regretted very quickly. In the still of the night, he knew that he was at fault for the tears in the family fabric. Daughter Alice, too, had made mistakes. "Alice lay down on the bed, admitting to herself for the millionth time that she was lonely. She was sorry now that she came. She was sorry that she was so mean to her mother. Face it, Alice, she told herself. You're sorry for it all."

Lucy Left Town is the emotional story of a woman, who after many years of marriage, decided to take care of herself first; the story of a woman who began to look for something more in her life.In Lucy's teenage years, heartsore with grief due to an unexpected death, she made a hurried and distraught decision; a decision that seemed to be the only option at the time.That decision led to many years of marriage, and as the years began to add up, she found herself struggling with the feeling that life was passing by at an alarming rate. She began to wonder if the years spent with her husband were reason enough to justify spending her remaining time in a vacuum.Her husband, Chip, was not a cruel or difficult man; just a man who was content with very little change in his life; satisfied with remaining in the groove he had notched out for himself.Finally, Lucy concluded that the only course of action that she could take would be to leave her home - she did not make this decision lightly, but thought about it from many angles, and in order to have that something more, she would have to take that big step.Settled into a new life, Lucy was content. Meanwhile, Chip could not reconcile himself to the fact that she had left and was determined that she should return and they could restart their lives together.In the end, Fate decided the outcome of any reconciliation between the two of them, and another unexpected death sent Lucy back to her home for one last visit.