In a novel rich with heartache, deeply felt spirituality, and down-to-earth humor, a talented woman dares to face her demons - as a secret from the past threatens the love she's fought so hard to keep.
After her mama dropped out of her life, Myrtle Charmaine dropped her first name forever. But eleven-year-old Charmaine has her singing and her beloved Sunday school teacher, who takes her into her own God-fearing family. Yet Charmaine's out-of-the-ordinary odyssey has only just begun...
There are foster homes ... a fateful encounter with a college man when she is barely fourteen ... and gigs that range from the down-home sweetness of the Suds 'n' Strikes Forever bowling alley to the rhinestone dazzle of Atlantic City to the pure joy of singing gospel in church. And when a traveling preacher named Harlan who loves the Word and her arrives, Charmaine knows for sure God is smiling at her. Still, even on a countrywide crusade, her ineffable sense of longing lingers. It will lead her to paths Harlan would never approve of - if he knew! And to something that can end her sadness and give her the keys to healing.
