Following in the footsteps of her tiger-taming grandmother, a woman flees her abusive husband to join the circus in this masterful, heartfelt work of women’s fiction. Anna Michaels won raves for her debut novel, The Tender Mercy of Roses, with novelist Pat Conroy calling her “a truly gifted writer.” Now Michaels has crafted a poignant portrayal of a woman on the edge seeking solace in the past. Nobody in the family talks about Ellen’s grandmother, Lola, who was swallowed up by the circus and emerged as a woman who tamed tigers and got away scot-free for killing her husband. When Ellen’s husband, Wayne, beats her nearly to death, she runs to the only place she knows where a woman can completely disappear—the same Big Top that once sheltered her grandmother. Though the circus moves from one town to the next, Wayne tracks it, and Ellen, relentlessly. At the same time, Ellen learns more about her feisty, fiery relative, and the heritage that is hers for the taking—if she dares. With her violent husband hot on her trail, Ellen must learn to stand up and fight for herself, to break the cycle of abuse, and pass down a story of love and redemption to her children.
Author
Peggy Webb is a USA Today Bestselling author from Mississippi. She has written 70 novels, 200 magazine humor columns, 2 screenplays. Called a "comedic genius" by her peers, she writes romantic comedy and the hilarious Southern Cousins Mysteries as Peggy Webb. She writes literary fiction under the pen names Anna Michaels and Elaine Hussey. Pat Conroy calls her literary work "astonishing" and Kathie Fong Yoneda labels it "brilliant." The author calls The Sweetest Hallelujah,written as Elaine Hussey, "the best book I've ever written." Advance reveiwers say "if you can buy only one book, make it The Sweetest Hallelujah." Learn more at www.elainehussey.com. An actress and musician as well as a writer, Peggy composed the blues lyrics that appear throughout The Sweetest Hallelujah. She has been in many stage plays at her local community theater and says the role she enjoyed most was the Witch in "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe." "I was playing against type," she says. :) Peggy loves gardening, playing piano, singing in her church choir, hanging out on her front porch with friends and owning dogs "who think they are the boss." She considers her greastest accomplishment "raising two wonderful children who are good people, good citizens and good parents." She says, "I adore my four grandchildren who call me Gigi. Thank goodness, the feeling is mutual." Series: * Westmoreland Diaries * A Southern Cousins Mystery
