A time to search

never did ask you to forgive me, even though my sin cost you everything you had. When they took your Papa off to prison, I just didn’t want to live. I didn’t want to let you go. Not any of you. But when they said they had a home for Chuck and the baby, I thought it would be for the best. What choice did I have? T love you. If you believe nothing else, believe that. I’ve told Chuck and Grace the same. If you see them again, and I pray every day you will, give them each their letter. Ina letter left to read after her death, these are the last words Celia has from her mother. And now it’s up to Celia to find the brother and sister who were given up for adoption thirteen years before. When the orphanage won’t cooperate, she doesn’t know where to turn. Should she just forget about them? For Celia the 1950s are devoted to family and friends. She and Jake have a daughter, Libby, who is growing like a weed. They continue to enjoy Dotty and Sam, who have an ever-growing family. And they do their best to encourage Mary Margaret, who remains bitter after her divorce. A Time to Search is set in a world when TV was brand-new and Elvis was shaking up the world. It’s about losing and finding God. And it’s about the importance of family ties. LINDA SHANDS has been a freelance writer for over ten years. Her poe!r! —< articles have been published in magazines like Adventure West and Living Streams. é a monthly humor column for a newspaper, The Good News, in her hometown of i’uge-~>.- Oregon, and lives with her husband, Gene, and their twin golden retrievers. A Time to Speak (forthcoming)