The Secret-Keepers’ Stories by Joyce Lewis-Andrews

Set in the hills and hazards of western Pennsylvania, eleven members of the Williams family overcome the tragedies, financial devastations, and wars of the twentieth century by spinning losses into fables, teasing tales out of misery, and tacking a “reason for everything” onto what they could.  When the power of a story was all they had of value to pass on, Ethel, Annie, Eunice, Clara, Margaret, Joe, Evelyn, Minnie, Betty, Sam, and Mabel rolled up their sleeves and created a legacy. A passion and purpose for storytelling ran through this household’s blood… But so did a curse and a couple of good reasons for secret-keeping.

Part memoir and part biography, The Secret Keepers’ Stories chronicle an American family’s journey out of poverty and the confluence of character, gumption, talent, and loyalties that drove progress and prosperity forward. It is a tribute to the stories we tell, the secrets we keep, the memories we make, the past we share, and the people and places that define us.