The River Bottoms

About the Book

"If you truly want to feel, not just know, what it was like to grow up in the middle of nowhere in the 1930s and '40s, as the son of an alcoholic and abusive father, this fictional story, based on the real-life experiences of the author's father, won't disappoint."

   --Ric Cox, former Senior Staff Editor, The Reader's Digest

Growing up in the time of the depression was hard on all Americans.  But doing so under the ruling hand of a violently abusive father was at best, impossible.  Will Mueller, his mother, brother and sister were scarred physically and emotionally.  His brother and he would wander the river bottoms around where they lived to explore and have great adventures to escape the tyranny of their home life.  Will experienced more as a young child than most people do in their whole lives.  He met very interesting people, both good and bad.

            The one thing that kept the family together was his mother’s faith.  She instilled that faith into her young son.  Will’s mother was a rock for him and his siblings.  Alcohol usually fueled his father’s tirades but his father drank all of the time.  There was little relief from the violence.  As a grown man, Will travels back to where it all began and thanked God that he made it.

About the Author

Tammy Jane Tucker was born in Fairfield, Illinois, a town just north of the Aden River Bottoms. She is the youngest of five children of the late Marshall Tucker and Norma Tucker. Graduating from Johnson Bible College in 1990 with a degree in Bible and a Church Music Specialty, Tammy also was certified to teach English as a second language. Tammy also attended nursing school and was a Registered Nurse for over fifteen years. She spent her career as a travel nurse and has many exciting stories to tell. She was also a Parish Nurse. After being diagnosed with a debilitating condition, she could no longer stay in the work force and began to get serious with her writing. “I have always been fascinated with my father’s stories about growing up in the bottoms. I had to tell his inspirational story.” Tammy has said. She also enjoys writing short stories, children’s stories and poetry. Tammy now resides in the town where she grew up. She is a member of the First Christian Church and enjoys singing and playing the piano as well as making her friends and family smile.