Through Tender Thorns

In 1917, James E. Glidewell, manufacturer and businessman, builds a beautiful horse ranch on the outskirts of Springfield, Missouri. With his fortune secure in gold bullion, he spares no expense, hiring a staff of diverse individuals to help him achieve his goal of owning the finest racehorses in all the Midwest. He provides his staff with meaningful jobs, a place to live, food to eat and medical care during the Great Depression. The Glidewell Ranch stood in sharp contrast to the rest of the country during these dismal economic times.

In 1931, Maizie Freedman, an unskilled, blue-eyed, lightly colored girl of 16, arrives at the Glidewell ranch seeking employment after her mother's untimely death. Appearing hungry and somewhat lost, Mary Glidewell hires Maizie to work as her office assistant. Maizie, eager and talented, is taught many new skills, which helps her develop a feeling of self- worth and security. She writes in a diary expressing her feelings about her new life and the itinerant life she recalls from her past. She is confused about her heritage, her mother's well-kept secrets, and her growing affection for the backside manager son, Capp. As Maizie's childhood begins to unfold, she finds hints to the mysteries of her early life on a battered map. The map seems to trace a journey from the Mississippi Delta to Springfield, Missouri, a journey filled with adventure, hardships, and insecurity which Maizie re-lives in her nightmares and foggy memories. Maizie's quest to learn her truth and James' dream of winning the Kentucky Derby coalesce into a fascinating narrative of intrigue, the pursuit of glory and the true meaning of family.