Ironweed

Ironweed is a glimpse into a family who migrated to Southwest Ohio from Elliott County, Kentucky, in 1950. North across the Ohio, there was economic opportunity. But the journey across by car took them to a place as strange and lonely as their original ancestors experienced coming from the British Isles over 200 years ago. Lack of social connection, language, and cultural differences were significant barriers to the success of this isolated family. The book's author begins the story at the point when there is a tragic loss in the family, and she begins to search for comfort and purpose through poetry and remembered experiences. The quest is not resolved, and grieving what is lost continues. Ironweed is a wildflower that grows tall in the fields. It is becoming scarce, but when equally challenged against commercial annual blooms, the wildflower persists.