Explorations of Nancy Wastcoat

A dozen years of life-altering events bring Nancy to plead for her father's help -- a move from a comfortable lush Chicago suburb to a small town in the high desert of Utah, the birth of a second set of twins (making her a single mother of six kids within seven years,) major surgery, the death of her mother, divorce, house in foreclosure, and desperate thoughts of suicide.

It was her father who knew enough to refuse her request: "Look, Nancy, if I support you financially, I'll have to treat all your siblings the same. It will never be enough. And it will create animosity and dependence and that's not good for either of us. You're a smart girl. You'll be fine."

It could go either way: giving up in despair or a sudden final realization that she alone has to raise herself and her children. "Okay, what do I know about myself?"

Her response makes all the difference.