Poverty, Puberty, & Patriotism

About the Book

The true story of her life as a young teenager living in Dayton, Ohio, during World War II. As the Great Depression ends and WWII begins, the Kibler family finds their lives drastically challenged by her father’s meager white-collar salary, by life in a miserable trailer camp, by devastating fire, and by her mother’s near-death illness. Yet the family, like all Americans of that era, willingly sacrifices in every way possible to help the war effort. Father and daughter follow news of every battle and locate places on their world map. Ruth Ann finds joy in new friends, in the beauty of Island Park, and in being a teenager.

About the Author

She married her high school sweetheart, Walter Peck, and they have five children and eight grandchildren. She graduated with high honors from Wright State University at age forty and taught English for twenty-one years at Northmont Junior High in Englewood, Ohio. In 1990, she was honored as one of Ohio’s Top Ten Teachers. She has won dozens of national, state, and local awards for her poetry (see Rowing Through the Night). Poverty, Puberty, & Patriotism is her seventh book and was written especially for teenagers.