Author Description

Songs of Spring is a historical coming-of-age novel set in Puget Sound. The lives of Pearl Mooney and her younger sister, Edna, are shaped by their ten-year age difference, physical separation, and the historical events and social norms of the time. Songs of Spring opens in 1902 in Port Orchard, Washington. Pearl's mother, Abbey, is in labor. After being an only child for ten years, Pearl resents the addition of a new baby. Pearl is afraid her dream of attending high school will be derailed as she becomes a caregiver to her new sibling. Four years later, Pearl boards a steamboat to move in with her aunt and uncle while attending Seattle High. Onboard the Athlon, Pearl meets Dr. Lucien Chapman. The doctor rouses Pearl's interest in nursing and inspires her with words she carries into her later years.With her only sibling gone, four-year-old Edna is alone on the small farm with only her mother and her rag doll for companionship. Papa is gone for weeks at a time at a logging camp. Mama sews and does alterations for the town and the wives of the men stationed at the nearby Naval Shipyard, barely having time to spend with Edna.Before her senior year, Pearl finds herself with child. To avoid bringing shame to the family, Pearl is sent to the Florence Crittenton Home for girls south of Seattle. With permission to marry and keep her baby, Pearl's dreams of becoming a nurse are squelched. Eventually, Edna and her parents move to Seattle to allow Edna to attend high school and the State Normal School in Ellensburg, where Edna earns a teaching certificate.After the birth of Edna's first child, Pearl brings the family bible, and Edna discovers dried flowers tucked away inside. The flowers which Pearl picked on the day of Edna's birth. Pearl is reacquainted with Dr. Chapman, who helps her see that even though she never became a nurse, she has fulfilled what she set out to do, make a difference in others' lives.