Angels in the Whirlwind

Book excerpt: Jimmi Lee's childhood is traumatic. Her father, T.R., addicted to alcohol and suffering from manic depression, is driven by demons from his past. He is particularly cruel to Jimmi. Pearl, her mother, enables their father at the expense of the children. Jimmi dreams of love, becoming rich, returning to her grandparent's ranch and taking the younger children with her. Angry and rebellious, Jimmi has migraine headaches and becomes dependent on codeine. She meets Edward, falls instantly in love and decides to marry him. She plots to extricate him from a long term affair; succeeds and marries him. Increasingly unhappy, she learns that money does not buy love, happiness, or security. All her pregnancies end in miscarriage; slowly she descends into an alcoholic hell. Alcoholism and an addiction to prescription drugs bring her to her knees. She cries out for help. Willa, Jimmi's sister, calls Edna, a member of Alcoholic Anonymous for help. This is the beginning of Jimmi's new life, one of happiness, peace of mind, and the love she had always dreamed of but had lost hope of finding. Examining her past, Jimmi sees Angels, masquerading as humans in the whirlwinds of her life, always pointing her in the right direction.