It is the early 1900s in the mountains of Upstate New York where miners eke out a dangerous living. In order to save Jane Carter from such a lifestyle, her family forces her into a marriage with Amos, a farmer ten years her senior. Amos has one goal, to expand his farm, and Jane’s role is to give him children who can serve as free farmhands. But Jane, who wasn’t able to speak up for herself as a fifteen--year old girl, wants more for her children.

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Though Amos staunchly believes school is a waste of time, Jane makes certain their daughter Eunie goes and begins to learn more about the world beyond the four walls of the cramped shanty the family lives in. She brings her discoveries home to Jane: women got the right to vote, they drive motor cars, they have opinions that they can openly vocalize. Jane’s constrained and drab existence without any means of escape from her husband’s demands is in sharp contrast to the future that her educated daughter will have. ­

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Inspired by a confusing, very real conversation Carol’s grandmother had with her when Carol was just a child, (see Author’s Note below) is filled with both heartbreaking loss and the possibility of hope.Even though this is historical fiction, ideal for discussion, the topic is quite prevalent when women and education are facing similar challenges in recent times.