In the Shadows of Savannah

What adventures and opportunities, loves and losses await Ali In The Shadows

of Savannah?




Adrift and in sorrow of soul after her mother's recent death, Alison Davies surreptitiously

climbed the steps to take her seat on the last southbound train to Savannah. Ali was by nature

an independent woman and admirer of the courageous Suffragettes, but in 1906 Wilmington,

North Carolina, this was not the manner in which a well-bred young lady conducted herself. Her

father left his particular imprint on her, as did her dear mother's kindness and support. Ali and

her mother whispered and conspired in the safety of Mama's bedroom about the life Ali would

lead once she arrived in Savannah. Beyond the eavesdropping of her father and nosey

stepsisters, they planned for her eventual escape to a new life. Then the unthinkable

happened-her mother, Josephine, passed away, not unexpectedly because she was frail and

had been in failing health of late, yet how could one prepare for such a devastating loss?




Josephine knew what awaited her precious daughter when she was no longer there to shield

her. She had secretly squirreled away money her father gave her for her own and Ali's escape if

she could no longer bear it. Her cousin Edyth in Savannah, Georgia was on the ready should this

plan become necessary. And now it was necessary but Ail wouldn't be going away with her

mother. She had to somehow summon the courage to follow the steps they so carefully

planned alone. She secretly boarded the night train to Savannah as soon as she had seen her

mother properly laid to rest. Ali invoked her mother's spirit to travel with her, clutched her

rosary, and wondered, what kind of life is before me, will I meet a man who can love me, will I

find a position for income, will Father find me...what will my life be, who will I be?




Cousin Edy warned her when she accepted the position at the bank that the vice president,

John Meadows had a sullied reputation as a womanizer, but the vulnerable and still grieving

young woman was less interested in her reputation than Cousin Edy. She wanted to bathe

herself in her newfound independence and she found herself drawn to the forbidden

fruit... Johnnie Meadows. Ali was beguiled by his confident swagger and charismatic personality.

Her heart beat like a rabbit's and she was flustered whenever he was nearby. After being

regarded as a spinster for so long, could it be that she had finally found the man who could

breathe life back into her? Would he even notice her? Was she fully prepared to risk

everything, including her reputation? Dare she indulge this hope that Johnnie might be hers

one day... In the Shadows of Savannah?




Loosely based on actual events in the late 1800s and early 1900s in Wilmington, NC and

Savannah, GA, this is the story of Ali, but also three other women across generations in her

family and their singular choices in the midst of very private circumstances. From the beginning

of civilization women have faced the same challenges and subsequent heartaches,

disenfranchisement, ostracization, and ruin because of the disproportionate burden placed on

them through pregnancy and childbirth. With topics as relevant today as in 1906, the author

offers In the Shadows of Savannah as a safe place to begin the conversation with open hearts

and minds. In the Shadows of Savannah is an insightful, compelling, and thought-provoking

read.