Judith Bohannon

Earlene's Parade Judith Bohannon

The birth of Earlene Mullins, occurring on a cold February day in 1950 at the West Virginia Prison for Women, is witnessed by three people. Thirty-nine years later, her funeral is viewed by millions. From her grandparents' small farm in southwest Virginia to becoming the wife of the vice president of the United States, her unconventional life is marked by her mother's incarceration for murder, the tragic death of her only love, her sterile marriage to a gay politician, and a son conceived during a brief tryst with a political aide. Earlene's only dream is born when she is eight years old and watches the Scott County Tobacco Festival parade from atop her grandfather's shoulders. Earlene declares to her grandfather that someday, she, too, will ride in a parade. However, fate has other ideas as the extraordinary events in her life unfold, and her wish remains unfulfilled until thirty-one years later when she defies all possibilities and...well, let readers see for themselves. The surprise ending shouldn't be spoiled here.