by Debra Diaz
“Ethan?”
Very slowly, as though he thought he might be dreaming, he moved his hands. His eyes went to hers.
“Were you praying for me?” she whispered.
“For both of us,” he answered, his voice rough, and broken. “I’ve been having quite a talk with the Lord.”
“What…did he tell you?”
Ethan gathered her up into his arms and she was able to weakly slide her own around him. He pressed his cheek against hers.
“He said, among other things … ‘Don’t worry, Genny. You will be well again.’ ”
THE END
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
No words of mine could ever depict the true horror of the summer and fall of 1878 in Memphis, Tennessee.
When it was over the city of Memphis found itself not only decimated in population, but bankrupt due to poor management and the loss of its taxpayers. It lost its city charter in 1879 and did not reclaim it until 1893. It had been on its way to becoming one of the major U.S. cities and was sometimes called a “young Chicago”; however, the epidemic and its financial woes changed its course and instead Atlanta became the major city of the region.
In 1879 there was another outbreak of yellow fever (on a much smaller scale) but then, at last convinced by the medical community of the need for reform, Memphis cleaned up its act in a spectacular way, becoming known at one time as one of the cleanest and most beautiful cities in the nation.
More information about the yellow fever epidemic of 1878 can be found at http://www.debradiaz.com/. For help with research, the author would like to gratefully acknowledge the kind assistance of the librarians of the Memphis and Shelby County Room at the Memphis Public Library.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Debra Diaz has worked as a columnist and feature writer for a local newspaper, and between other jobs she has owned and operated a writing service. She has won two regional awards in short-story writing. Born and raised in Memphis, she now resides with her husband and two children near Oxford, Mississippi.
Table of Contents
Copyright
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: