My Savage Journey

Book excerpt: When Delores Savage was eight years old, she moved with her family from the hills and the cotton fields of Oak City, North Carolina, to the big city streets of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In My Savage Journey, she tells the story of her life in both North Carolina and Philadelphia. She describes going to school and getting her first job at the Robinson Department store. Later, she would spend ten years working at Wanamaker's Department Store, long considered to be the first department store in the United States; now she shares stories of customers-good and bad. She recalls the story of her mother's unhappy marriage to her father in North Carolina and of her mother's rape at age twelve by their pastor-an event that produced her daughter, Annabelle. Because of the times, though, this fact was not shared with anyone outside their family for fear of reprisal from the pastor. Delores also takes us through her life and the birth of her five children. She has lived a life full of ups and downs, love and challenges, but she takes pride in her accomplishments. My Savage Journey is the biography of a strong, faithful woman who is devoted to her remaining family. It's a life story you won't soon forget.