Why I Wrote ENDURING TIMES

I was born at a time not too dissimilar from the era in which we find ourselves now. The world and the people in it were struggling to survive, rocked by the many social and economic headwinds that would change their lives, like those of my parents, forever. Nine decades ago, many in our country faced the unimaginable—unemployment, breadlines, poverty, and a change in social mores that was perhaps more unnerving for some than the loss of income or struggle to feed their children. And still, people endured, raised families as best they could and hoped for a better life in the coming years and decades. 

As a senior who has enjoyed the privilege of living a very long life, I write with the knowledge that I am leaving a form of historical record about the world into which I was born.  Although I write fiction and do at times alter events of the past to suit my book’s needs, I am careful to conjure a world in my writing that is true to the spirit of the time and people about which I write.

Inspired by my mother’s remarkable strength, I wrote a novel, Enduring Times, that reflects the still ongoing battle that women have been waging for over a century—the freedom for equal partnership in marriage and parenting and for the financial freedom to choose to walk away when it becomes necessary. Enduring Times is the story of a devoted wife and mother who gradually comes into her own as a woman no longer willing to be dominated by her husband.                

Opening in Pittsburgh in the early 1900s, the novel follows my mother’s life from two defining acts of defiance—enrolling in Carnegie Nursing Academy and falling in love—through the tragic loss of a child and her wildly turbulent and troubled marriage. Moving from a Pennsylvania farm to the jungles of Colombia to the streets of Philadelphia during the Great Depression, the novel explores timely issues—depression, alcoholism, religious fanaticism, poverty, and domestic abuse among them. 

One of the most difficult aspects of my writing journey was my proximity to the characters involved and how intimately I knew their stories, hardships, and motivations for their actions. One would think that this would be an author’s dream come true…that the writing process would flow seamlessly and my knowledge of these people would facilitate the creation of my novel’s characters and worlds.

But in fact, it made the process more difficult. Although my parents passed from this world long ago, I was in a way bringing them back to life as I wrote this book. It was my responsibility to recreate them and their experiences honestly, yet filtered through my recollections of them, my feelings about their actions, and the knowledge of how things would ultimately turn out for them and our family.   

Privacy was also a concern of mine when writing this novel, both for my parents and for myself. The act of writing, of creating a world for the consumption of others, is such an intimate experience. I remember my parents always saying that one should never discuss family business outside the home’s door, yet here I am revealing the most personal, inner workings of their marriage. I was, of course, also revealing my personal details, the events and the people that shaped me into who I am.  Ultimately I decided that there would be no point to writing a novel of this type if I weren’t comfortable with exposing myself and the vulnerability of my parents’ lives.

Enduring Times is a testament to the resilience of women, then and now. I wanted to write a novel that accurately reflects the hardships imposed on women by society. Being a woman today is not easy…it’s still a man’s world.  Women’s lives have dramatically changed for the better over the past century, yet despite the #MeToo movement and gains in education and professional advancement, women in America still have a long way to go.

In the early part of the 20th century, life for women was even more of a challenge. No matter how independent a woman hoped to be, her fate was mostly determined first by her father and then her husband. My mother’s story demonstrates how women of her time were both victims of their circumstances and the heroines of their own stories, aspirations, and accomplishments. It was important to me to showcase her grit and determination so that people understand how women of her time inspired women of my generation to continue the fight for self-determination and the ability to accomplish our own goals and desires.

As I wrote Enduring Times, I felt like a little girl again listening to the stories my parents and siblings would tell me.  Now I was telling them.  It filled me with many different emotions as I put myself in their shoes. It was quite an effort and well worth it.  I hope my readers will feel the same.

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BETTY GODFREY was born in Philadelphia during the Great Depression and grew up in New Jersey. She now lives in Jupiter, Florida, and enjoys writing poems and travel stories. 

 

ENDURING TIMES, Betty Godfrey

Enduring Times begins in Carnegie Pennsylvania, in the 1900. The story is fiction, based on a true story. Freda, a dominating mother, kept Jennifer and her sister Caroline on a short leash.

She wanted complete control of them and dating was out of the question. Jennifer’s first show of courage came when she went against her mother’s wishes and enrolled in the Carnegie Nursing Academy. The second was when she fell in love with Bill, who worked at her father’s bank. When her mother found out about Bill, she tried to break them up. They ran away and married

.When they returned her mother tried to force Jennifer to come home. When Jennifer refused, her mother screamed “You’ll regret the day you married him.” For five years Jennifer had a happy marriage with her loving husband and three children, Jennifer felt she was the happiest woman alive. Suddenly her son dies and Bill has a nervous breakdown. He disappears for weeks. When he returns life changes dramatically. Bill will no longer work at the bank, he will become a minister of a Faith Healing Church.

The family will no longer be Catholic or use doctors or medicine. Jennifer refuses to do as he demands and they fight for weeks. One sunday morning, Bill takes the children to his church. She tries to stop him but he’s too strong. When the children come home they are scared and beg her to go with them next time.She gives in for the sake of the children. Secretly she continues to attend the Catholic church. Several years later they are sent to the jungles of Columbia, South America, as missionaries. Bill will teach the natives about God and Jennifer will teach the natives to read, write and she takes care of their health.

Three years later Jennifer becomes pregnant. The chief of the village tells her he is going to honor them. When the baby is born, he will take it as his own, Bill and Jennifer refuse his offer and the chief is angry. Jennifer won’t give up her baby. They take a freighter to Philadelphia and arrive at the start of the Great Depression. She’s pregnant, they have very little money and nowhere to live. What did they do? Where did they go? How much more can Jennifer Endure? I won’t spoil it for you or tell you the rest. Buy it now and find out.

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Category: On Writing