This is the story of Mary Sweat, a Hoosier girl whose childhood during the Great Depression was marked by poverty and deprivation. Yet, like many of her contemporaries, she was part of a happy family that made do with what they had. When the United States entered World War II, Mary was a typical American teen, excited about learning to drive and earning money to buy records from her favorite singer, Frank Sinatra. But like others in her generation, she came of age amid daily radio broadcasts reporting the horrors of war, and like the rest of her class of 1944, she graduated from high school during a time of strict rationing. Despite the war, however, she and her classmates managed to enjoy their high school years. This is her story, but it is also the story of millions of other valiant young women who were part of the greatest generation.

Marilyn K. Clark teaches English at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Although she has not lived in Indiana since 1979, she still considers herself a Hoosier. She and her husband, Tom, have two grown children.

To order a copy of the book, or to contact the author please contact her at mkbclark@yahoo.com.