A Bend in the Straight and Narrow: A Woman’s Journey into the Heart of the Florida Frontier

Finalist in the 2016 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition!The bravest fighters are often not soldiers. Based on a true story of Civil War era passion and sacrifice, this novel follows the life of Sally Ann Marsh. Born to a poor, but close-knit family, Sally is married off in 1859, at the age of 15, to a wealthy man twice her age. She is distraught, but determined to make the best of her life. She falls in love with her husband and they create a blissful home together with their growing family. Their lives are upended when Sherman marches through Georgia. Sally is forced to evacuate and leads a small group of women, children and her elderly father-in-law to the Florida frontier.As their men are off fighting, the refugees rebuild their lives amidst the sweltering heat, mosquitoes and gnats, alligators and poisonous snakes. But it is the two-legged varmints who threaten the most harm. Sally manages to establish a community for her friends and family, while they wait for the men, some of whom might never return.