Tragedy, woes, and a loss of faith. Can she claw her way back into the light?
In Depression Era Mississippi, fifteen-year-old Mary Johnson is determined to choose her own life. Furious when her parents agree to have her wed a wealthy old preacher, the feisty teenager elopes with her aspiring musician boyfriend to the bright lights of Chicago. But instead of fun, fame, and fortune, they find misery and heartbreak.
Returning to Mississippi, Mary reluctantly considers marrying the older man her parents wanted. But she might discover life as a pastor’s wife is much more costly than she imagined.
Will her choice lead to happiness or unending sorrow?
Mary Not Broken is the gripping prequel to the Glory Bishop women’s literary fiction series. If you like flawed characters, riveting drama, and perseverance through challenges, then you’ll love Deborah L. King’s moving novel of falling from grace.
Mary Not Broken coming October 10th, 2023!
In Depression Era Mississippi, fifteen-year-old Mary Johnson hates everything about the rural south. She hates everything, that is, except the dirt-poor, aspiring musician Mason Carter. The teenaged lovers fantasize about living up north in the bright lights and Blues music of the big city. Their dreams seem as far-fetched as the miles between the desolation of the South and booming Chicago.
But when an old preacher arrives in town to court Mary, he promises money and status for the family, education for her sisters, and a life of luxury for Mary, who wants nothing to do with him. But in the end, her parents decide to exchange their daughter for their family’s future by agreeing to her marriage to the much-older man. Still, Mary and Mason are determined to make their dreams come true and they flee north to Chicago to pursue the high life in the big city.
However, amidst the harsh realities of adulthood, their dreams turn to nightmares and Mary finds herself returning home to the very life she once tried desperately to escape, and reluctantly considering the promise of luxury and security as a preacher’s wife. But the old preacher is not all that he seems, and life as a preacher’s wife might prove more costly than she could have ever imagined.
