New Releases by Cheryl Grant

From Beaver Creek to Hanoi: A Mother's Quest to Rescue Her Son is a story of a resolute woman who over the course of three years worked zealously to get her son, a fighter pilot shot down during a bombing raid, out of a prisoner of war camp during the Vietnam War. Minnie Lee Gartley, a history teacher who lived in Maine and stayed in Dunedin, Florida during the school year, joined letter writing campaigns, gave speeches, testified in front of congressional hearings, traveled with prominent peace organization members to meet with other women from Southeast Asia, and ultimately went on a risky journey to Hanoi. This story caused a controversy when it happened and still stirs debate today. What would you do for a child of yours in danger?

Gracie & Albert is a portrait of a young couple in 1948 in rural Maine. Gracie is struggling with four months of treatment for mental illness in a public psychiatric hospital. Dealing with the guilt of having his wife involuntarily committed to this hospital, Albert is holding himself and their two young sons together on the outside. The reader is tossed back and forth between the mid-twentieth century mental health institution, primitive by today's standards, and an outside community rife with intolerance and void of support for patients' families. The story is based on the author's parents in their early twenties, the author's recollection of her mother's stories, and actual records from Augusta State Hospital.