Deb’s Dozen: 12-Word Summaries – Transplanted Lakota Indian mom and son. Hard times, new family, God’s love.

Frankie Chasing Bear and her son, Harold, have come to Arizona from their home in South Dakota hoping to find a new life after the death of her husband. Eking out a bare existence by working in the kitchen at the Indian School is hardly sufficient to make them successful. Enter Nick Parker, the Federal Indian Agent for the area (and half Lakota). He wants to help Frankie, but she is leery of Indian men – many of the ones she knows are alcoholics like her husband was. What keeps Frankie going and gives her hope is a quilt her grandmother taught her to make – a Lakota Star pattern. Her grandmother had often told her; A bed without a quilt is like a sky without stars.

How Frankie and Harold scrape their way to a better life, and how Nick fits into the picture, as well as learning how Indians are sometimes treated by the white folk in the area, makes an interesting and informative read. You’ll be fascinated by the discussions of Indian life.

Linda S. Clare has written many books, essays, short stories, and poems. An award-winning author, she edits and mentors other writers and frequently speaks at conferences and church retreats. She and her husband live in Eugene, Oregon with their three wayward cats.

I was given a copy of A Sky Without Stars by Abingdon Press for my unbiased review.