"This gift of life is precious, and I chose early on not to be meek about living it, but to grab hold of all it offers up to me with joy and passion. I hope that at the end of my story you will understand. I want so much to be understood." NELLIE Bottled Butterfly explores the themes of family dynamics, social and religious culture, and significant life events that influence the intellectual and emotional development of children. Through young Nellie, it tackles the impact of geographical cultural beliefs, poverty, illiteracy, and the dysfunctions of family life on children and how those issues influence our behavior in adulthood. Set in the 1930's and 1940's in rural Ohio, this classic story clearly depicts the issues that confronted young women back then, and how they remain much the same in the twenty-first century. Nellie is a courageous young woman with deep inner strength, a big heart, and an insatiable longing to be something more than others envision for her. There is within her an unrest, a need to do something important with her life, and the gift of imagination that others around her do not have. There is a life tucked inside her mind that no one else can see, and it is her aspirations for her own daughter that push her into making that life a reality. "Bottled Butterfly will make you laugh and make you cry. Above all, it makes you think. You will gasp at the sheer beauty of the language and the wisdom offered by the author through her precious heroine Nellie. And for seniors who survived the Depression, this lovely book will bring back a flood of cherished memories." Brian McFarlane Author of 65 Books, Broadcaster and Member of the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame "Thisbeautifully narrated novel tells the tale of a girl, born and bred in the Midwest, who faces her future with a sensitiveness and creativity reminiscent of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird." Mary Linn Roby Author of 52 Books, including The Tower Room and The Herrick Inheritance