Clyde R.Kennedy's extraordinary memory for detail and love of a good yarn make for a vivid depiction of life in Belmont County in southeastern Ohio during the Great Depression. In 1930, with his father broke and out of work, his family abandons their foreclosed house in Pennsylvania to retreat back to the mercy of family in Bellaire, Ohio. When precious little help is found, Kennedy's mother Anna sets them on a seven year odyssey moving the family a dozen times into and out of whatever shelter she can find