Blooming In the Garden of Expectations is a memoir that spirits us back to East Whittier, California during the end of the Great Depression and all of WWII. There we join a child named Mary who resists the strictures of her Quaker upbringing and speaks her mind. When her eighth grade teacher challenges her students to write their very first memory, she relishes the task and turns it in, but secretly keeps right on going. The result is this sepia snapshot of life, in that time and place, where simplicity, generosity, silent heroism, and serious fun are the norm. It is a glorious time to be a child. "Blooming In the Garden of Expectations is a memoir that captures the innocence of a lost era. While the Great Depression and WWII starkly frame life, the author captures the best memories of childhood with evocative imagery, growth of character, and a fascinating glimpse into the lives of influential Californians." Louella Nelson, M.A., best selling author and Distinguished Instructor, University of California, Irvine." "Blooming In The Garden of Expectations is a fascinating look at a crucial historic period through the eyes of a child. From the first chapter to the very last page, this author reveals her love of words and crafts them in the intensely beautiful way that they were meant to be used. It took me back to how I viewed the world when I was a child. To see the last years of the Great Depression and all of World War II through the eyes of this happy protagonist thrilled me and made my heart sing." Janet Simcic Author of The Man at the Caffe Farnese "I was profoundly moved by this beautifully written memoir that resonates on so many levels with my own childhood. Blooming In the Garden of Expectations spirits us back to East Whittier, California, at the end of the Great Depression and all of WWII. There we tap into the thoughts of a young girl who speaks her mind. Mary sees words as the essence of life; she respects their power. The wrong ones may hurt, the right ones may help. And are there wordless words? If not, why do grown men cry when she plays the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria on her violin? These mysteries continue to puzzle her, finally coming full circle and clear to her in the Garden of Expectations. I found this book to be a unique social history of the first order and, because it was so meaningful to me, felt that I must help to find a way to make it broadly available." Edward C. Nixon, Co-Author of: The Nixons: A Family Portrait