Robert L. Saunders

Tommytown 2: Helen's Song Robert L. Saunders

This sequel to the novel, Tommytown, will rip through the hearts of all mothers. In the 1950's Helen, the 35-year-old mother, living in sheer poverty with nine children, is compelled to overcome another hurdle as she maintains a balancing act from one day to the next in order to provide food, and a loving home for her children.

The young tribe returns; Barry, Noah, and Chris; along with their feisty sister, Karen; with all the vigor and humor of their unique characters. Even living in the ugliest of places, the brothers and sisters maintain a mix of good humor and cheer; despite the outside world's announcement that, "poor folks won't amount to nothing."

In Helen's Song, the author does an extraordinary job of painting an accurate picture of what it's like and what it means for a mother living in poverty with no public assistance. He'll educate you to the challenges that Helen faced each day, and you'll get some understanding of how different her world is from yours. He tears down the misunderstood and influencing social definition that 'poor folks won't amount to anything!'

The intellectuals of the academic world write tons of books on poverty that appeal to theory or meaningless data. However, their answers or remedies are minimal, and when it comes to understanding what it's really like to live in sheer poverty; they haven't the foggiest conception.
This is not a 'Beaver Cleaver meets Opie' story, but it is a story that makes you care. It's a novel about a mother. . . Helen, living in a world that most people never experience.