Wings Like a Dove, a Novel (Dec 1, 2019 from WhiteFire Publishers)
Can the invisible walls that separate people ever come down? In 1933, Anna Leibowicz is convinced that the American dream that brought her Jewish family here from Poland is nothing but an illusion. Her father has vanished. Her dreams of college can’t make it past the sweat-shop door. And when she discovers to her shame and horror that she’s with child, her mother gives her no choice but to leave home. Deciding her best course of action is to try to find her father, she strikes out…hoping against hope to somehow redeem them both. When Anna stumbles upon a house full of orphan boys in rural Indiana who are in desperate need of a tutor, she agrees to postpone her journey. But she knows from the moment she meets their thoughtful, deep-hearted mentor, Thomas Chandler, that she doesn’t dare risk staying too long. She can’t afford to open her heart to them, to him. She can’t risk letting her secrets out. All too soon, the townspeople realize she’s not like them and treat her with the same disdain they give the Sisters of Mercy—the nuns who help Thomas and the boys—and Samuel, the quiet colored boy Thomas has taken in. With the Klan presence in the town growing ever stronger, and the danger to this family increasing the longer she stays, Anna is torn between fleeing to keep them safe…and staying to fight beside them. Oh, that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest… |
For Launch Team Members & Potential Endorsers:
Title: WINGS LIKE A DOVE by Camille Eide
Genre: Historical / Christian / Relational Drama / Love Story
Backdrop: 1933 Indiana, Depression era, racism, nativism, anti-Semitism, past & present cultural disunity
ONE LINE SUMMARY: In 1933, an unwed, pregnant Jew in search of her father finds temporary work teaching truant orphans for a disillusioned ex-minister in a small Indiana town.
TAGLINE:
America was not turning out to be the “Golden” country that Anna’s papa had promised—especially since the land of opportunity had somehow swallowed him up without a trace. And now, because of her shameful secret, Anna must also leave her family and seek refuge in a small Indiana town where anti-Semitism is becoming harder to ignore, and trying not to fall in love is becoming impossible.
Book Quotes:
(In a letter from Anna to her sister back home in New York:)
"Dearest, Much has happened in the two weeks since I stopped at this unusual place. ‘Johansen Woodworks’ is a business, an apprenticeship school, and a charity home, all in one. I am the only female amongst a pack of boys. I have learned a few new words, some inventive ways to avoid bathing, and new uses for a pocketknife. Mumbley Peg is a game I must teach you all one day.
The garden is in—although the rows look more like meandering rivers, but they will do. The repaired coop is now home to six laying hens. Thanks to the sisters (two nuns) and their generous gifts of scraps, I make quilts to sell. And I have acquired mending work, which explains the enclosed money. It is to help with rent. Put it in the sugar bowl with your own earnings and do not tell Mama where it came from.
After school and on weekends, the boys work to rebuild the Sisters of Mercy school. The Sisters Mary (I must ask why they are all Mary?) are important to Thomas’s work. It seems that neither the nuns nor Thomas could succeed without the other. The Marys and Thomas do not practice their faith the same way, which confuses me, as I think they worship the same G-d, yet they seem to be willing to overlook their differences. If only everyone else could.
Besides Thomas, the sisters of Mercy are the only ones in this town willing to educate a Negro. Because of this, and some of their Catholic customs, they are despised by a certain group of people. The sisters are mistreated and harassed (the source of the fire that destroyed their school remains a mystery even though the local sheriff seems to know who harasses them, but for some reason, he is unable to arrest anyone). But even though they are maligned and harassed, the sisters continue to help those in need. Their commitment to serve comes from a deep sense of duty or godly principle, which I find strangely comforting. It reminds me of home, of our neighbors’ collective efforts to care for one another, even during our most unsettled of times. This bigoted group has threatened Thomas for helping and receiving help from the sisters. And yet, the man is unconcerned. I find this odd. In fact, I find many things odd about Thomas Chandler..."
quote:
Anna had never known that love could be so consuming, so tenacious. That it could take root and burrow down so deeply, even in ground that rejected it, even when there was no hope of it ever being cultivated.
quote:
A small gasp escaped her.
“Anna?” His voice was breathless with wonder. He dipped his head closer and peered into her eyes, studying her carefully.
As clearly as if in a waking dream, she saw herself married to him, saw herself loving him with all of her heart and soul. Which, of course, was impossible. Painfully so. Quickly, she dropped her gaze, blocking his scrutiny. Surely her eyes would give away both her foolish feelings and her dirtiness.
He reached up with his fingertips and gently tilted her chin upward, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Forgive me, but … I need to see if that was just my imagination.”
She swallowed hard. Look away, Anna ... But she could not. The bronze glow in his beautiful eyes captured her, held her fast, as if she were trapped beneath a giant, crashing wave.
Genre: Historical / Christian / Relational Drama / Love Story
Backdrop: 1933 Indiana, Depression era, racism, nativism, anti-Semitism, past & present cultural disunity
ONE LINE SUMMARY: In 1933, an unwed, pregnant Jew in search of her father finds temporary work teaching truant orphans for a disillusioned ex-minister in a small Indiana town.
TAGLINE:
America was not turning out to be the “Golden” country that Anna’s papa had promised—especially since the land of opportunity had somehow swallowed him up without a trace. And now, because of her shameful secret, Anna must also leave her family and seek refuge in a small Indiana town where anti-Semitism is becoming harder to ignore, and trying not to fall in love is becoming impossible.
Book Quotes:
(In a letter from Anna to her sister back home in New York:)
"Dearest, Much has happened in the two weeks since I stopped at this unusual place. ‘Johansen Woodworks’ is a business, an apprenticeship school, and a charity home, all in one. I am the only female amongst a pack of boys. I have learned a few new words, some inventive ways to avoid bathing, and new uses for a pocketknife. Mumbley Peg is a game I must teach you all one day.
The garden is in—although the rows look more like meandering rivers, but they will do. The repaired coop is now home to six laying hens. Thanks to the sisters (two nuns) and their generous gifts of scraps, I make quilts to sell. And I have acquired mending work, which explains the enclosed money. It is to help with rent. Put it in the sugar bowl with your own earnings and do not tell Mama where it came from.
After school and on weekends, the boys work to rebuild the Sisters of Mercy school. The Sisters Mary (I must ask why they are all Mary?) are important to Thomas’s work. It seems that neither the nuns nor Thomas could succeed without the other. The Marys and Thomas do not practice their faith the same way, which confuses me, as I think they worship the same G-d, yet they seem to be willing to overlook their differences. If only everyone else could.
Besides Thomas, the sisters of Mercy are the only ones in this town willing to educate a Negro. Because of this, and some of their Catholic customs, they are despised by a certain group of people. The sisters are mistreated and harassed (the source of the fire that destroyed their school remains a mystery even though the local sheriff seems to know who harasses them, but for some reason, he is unable to arrest anyone). But even though they are maligned and harassed, the sisters continue to help those in need. Their commitment to serve comes from a deep sense of duty or godly principle, which I find strangely comforting. It reminds me of home, of our neighbors’ collective efforts to care for one another, even during our most unsettled of times. This bigoted group has threatened Thomas for helping and receiving help from the sisters. And yet, the man is unconcerned. I find this odd. In fact, I find many things odd about Thomas Chandler..."
quote:
Anna had never known that love could be so consuming, so tenacious. That it could take root and burrow down so deeply, even in ground that rejected it, even when there was no hope of it ever being cultivated.
quote:
A small gasp escaped her.
“Anna?” His voice was breathless with wonder. He dipped his head closer and peered into her eyes, studying her carefully.
As clearly as if in a waking dream, she saw herself married to him, saw herself loving him with all of her heart and soul. Which, of course, was impossible. Painfully so. Quickly, she dropped her gaze, blocking his scrutiny. Surely her eyes would give away both her foolish feelings and her dirtiness.
He reached up with his fingertips and gently tilted her chin upward, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Forgive me, but … I need to see if that was just my imagination.”
She swallowed hard. Look away, Anna ... But she could not. The bronze glow in his beautiful eyes captured her, held her fast, as if she were trapped beneath a giant, crashing wave.