Such Is Life

About the Book

In the early 1950s, Jill Graves—a pretty English woman just graduated from the Royal Wanstead School in Devon—went against her mother’s advice to marry a rich man. She embarked instead on a career in nursing, emulating her heroine, Florence Nightingale. She turned down suitors and dedicated herself to her profession, until destiny came calling in the form of a handsome American. Graves moved from a sheltered childhood on Malta to English boarding schools to the oilfields in the California desert. Written with English dry wit and tremendous heart, the memories in this book open a window into growing up and growing old without sacrificing dignity or good cheer.

About the Author

Jill Graves-Thomas is a mother and grandmother living in Newport Beach. She has traveled the world and collected memories, but more than anything, she loves to serve visitors tea with milk, shortbread cookies, and to regale them with stories of childhood. This is her first memoir. Cecilia Fannon holds an MFA in screenwriting from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she won the Samuel Goldwyn Prize and the Burns and Allen Prize for her screenplays. She is a playwright and teacher and the author of Soviet Union, Women Leaders, and the Spock vs Q series. She met Jill Graves-Thomas through her daughter, Charlotte, a playwriting student and fine writer in her own right.