Daughters of Evolution

"Parfitt made early twentieth century Milwaukee come to life in this story of the hard work and sacrifice of Wisconsin's forward-looking suffragists. Readers will want to find out what happens...I thoroughly enjoyed it." -Virginia McCullough, Award-winning author of romance and women's fiction What will Sara Dewberry be willing to sacrifice to change the world? For Sara Dewberry, life in the early 1900s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her husband and children is comfortable and pleasant. But an injustice gnaws at Sara's heart. Women have no say in government, and no voice in politics. Women can't own land. Most are little more than property to their husbands, and Sara can't hide behind her cozy walls any longer. At first, going to the meetings that support the local suffragettes who want votes for women, stays a secret. When her husband rails against the women's movement and says, "Women should know their place!" Sara nods her head and gives him a thin smile. But when Sara is arrested at a rally in Chicago that is endorsing the 19th Amendment, the truth spills out. She's forced to make a choice: does she return to her life in the shadows, or should she make a sacrifice for the women she's come to love that will cost her everything?

The strength and perseverance that made American women what they are today is brought to light in an emotional and heart-wrenching tale in Ella Endures, Book 2 of the Daughters of Evolution Series. Sara Dewberry's oldest daughter, Ella, married Dr. John Ellington in the Roaring 20s. Prohibition was a joke and gangsters were rampant. Then, the Great Depression hit. The Ellington’s recovered, but not without scars. Orphanages and poorhouses were stretched to their limits and having a good heart, Ella grew her family to ten. She had children born of her blood and even more who found their way into her heart. World War II left its devastation. Ella's brother was missing in action. Two of her sons enlisted and were at risk. She faced not only the dangers of war but the deadly diseases of tuberculosis and polio, which struck her family hard. Ella had many struggles but fought for her family's survival.