Lydias Life : A Novel Based On The Life Of Flora Rebecca Whitwell Daily

Lydia was born in 1894, the daughter of a poorly educated Baptist preacher. Two years later her mother died in childbirth. Her father married a widow with two older sons. By the time she was age five she was being sent to the homes of various relatives who needed additional domestic help. She received less than three years of schooling. As a young girl, she was raped by her stepbrothers and as a teenager she ran away from home. Earning her living as a waitress, she met her future husband, also a Baptist preacher. They had a courtship that lasted only a few days. Her husband went on to earn a Ph.D. and teach in several colleges while Lydia received no further education. They struggled through a lifetime of incompatibility, raising four brilliant and well-educated children. Lydia outlived her husband by about ten years and was a beautiful and gracious older lady.