The Dallas Woman’s Forum Book Discussion
Please join us at The Alexander Mansion to discuss
Stormy Weather by Paulette Jiles
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Saturday, October 24th
1:00-2:30 PM
Alexander Mansion
4607 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas
The Literary Department is thrilled to announce an upcoming event at the Alexander Mansion, the first onsite gathering since the pandemic. For those who feel comfortable gathering in person, we can’t wait to see you! For those who don’t, no worries — we’ll provide a Zoom link, and you’ll be able to discuss the book as though you were right there with us.
Our goal is to present a book each time that highlights female protagonist, whether in fiction or non-fiction. Each meeting, a name will be drawn from the attendees to determine who will choose the next book.
Bottles of water and a light snack will be provided for those who come in person. Can’t wait to see everyone!
About the Book
From Paulette Jiles comes a poignant and unforgettable story of hardship, sacrifice, and strength in a tragic time – and a desperate dream born of an undying faith in the arrival of a better day.
Oil is king in East Texas during the darkest years of the Great Depression. The Stoddard girls know no life but an itinerant one, trailing their father from town to town as he searches for work on the pipelines and derricks. And in every small town, their mother, Elizabeth, does her level best to make each sparse, temporary house they inhabit a home.
But the fall of 1937 ushers in a year of devastating drought and dust storms, and the family’s fortunes sink further when a questionable “accident” leaves Elizabeth and her girls alone to confront the cruelest hardships of these hardest of times. With no choice left to them, they return to the abandoned family farm.
It is Jeanine Stoddard who devotes herself to rebuilding the farm and their lives. But hard work and good intentions won’t make ends meet. In desperation, the Stoddard women place their last hopes for salvation in a wildcat oil well, and on the back of late patriarch Jack’s one true legacy, a dangerous racehorse named Smoky Joe. And Jeanine must decide if she will gamble it all…on love.