*** Eric Hoffer Award FinalistIndependent Publisher Awards: Silver, Best Regional Fiction–Mid-AtlanticNational Indie Excellence Awards: WINNER– Literary Fiction***Historic, environmental drama wrapped in a love story…It’s 1948 in the steel town of Donora, Pennsylvania, site of the infamous “killing smog.” Public health nurse, Rose Pavlesic, has risen above her orphaned upbringing and created a … health nurse, Rose Pavlesic, has risen above her orphaned upbringing and created a life that reflects everything she missed as a child. She’s even managed to keep her painful secrets hidden from her doting husband, loving children, and large extended family.
When a stagnant weather pattern traps poisonous mill gasses in the valley, neighbors grow sicker and Rose’s nursing obligations thrust her into conflict she never could have fathomed. Consequences from her past collide with her present life, making her once clear decisions as gray as the suffocating smog. As pressure mounts, Rose finds she’s not the only one harboring lies. When the deadly fog finally clears, the loss of trust and faith leaves the Pavlesic family—and the whole town—splintered and shocked. With her new perspective, can Rose finally forgive herself and let her family’s healing begin?
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This historical novel showed me the smog problem in PA in 1948 and developed the lives of those who lived through it tragically. A good read!
Powerful book with strong characters. Well written where you could feel the fog.
Fascinating story of a community-nurse in a poor mill town whose tortured childhood twisted her attempts to have the perfect life, family and career. Set in midst of a little known environmental crisis in post-war PA. The observations of community members reactions to this crisis add to the interest of the story while the “happily ever after” …
Brought to life headlines from my childhood that impelled my father into environmental protection work.
It is a piece of Pennsylvania history that many people knew happened but didn’t understand why.
Good read.
Very discriptave I could almost see and smell the fog myself. It reminds us of how precious human lives
Kathleen Shoop really has a knack of transporting you back in time to Donora with sights, sounds and smells, I could vividly imagine life in this era perfectly whilst reading. Set in 1948 in the mill town of Donora this story is based around the time of the killing smog that engulfs the town and sees its residents fall fowl to the effects off the …