TRUDY KNOWLES
Author, Progressive Educator, Public Speaker, Workshop Facilitator
LARONE FAMILY PRESS
RADISHES AND RED BANDANAS
When Becky Jamison finds herself in a courtroom with her son, who was arrested during an Occupy Wall Street protest in 2011, it takes her back to another time. It’s 1967 and widespread resistance against the Vietnam War has rocked college campuses. Eighteen-year old preacher’s daughter Becky abandons the idealism and safety of small town Kentucky to spend the next four years at Lake Forest College north of Chicago. When Becky meets Marty, the leader of the school’s anti-war organization, she is thrust into the political and cultural turmoil of the times; the protests, demonstrations, occupations, riots, assassinations. Becky becomes immersed in a chaotic world of drugs, free love, and changing ideals.
As the body count in Vietnam climbs, the draft lottery targets the men in Becky’s life. One by one her friends and lovers are ripped away, leaving Becky behind.
With Vietnam coming closer to home, every moment counts. Becky becomes the voice of the anti-war movement on campus. She must find the strength to hold on to a world she has no control over—before she loses everyone she loves including herself.
"Finally the war ended. I breathed a sign of relief that we could now put the atrocity behind us. I later learned that for many, the war didn't really end."
The Vietnam War officially ended in 1975. Yet the impact continues to shape the generation most affected by the war, the baby boomers. Written for the Friends Journal in 1982, this article is a reflection on the Vietnam War and how it impacted me, my loved ones, and my friends. My novel, Radishes and Red Bandanas, is an extension of those reflections. (Friends Journal, August 1/15, 1982, p. 7)
Bringing Up Sarge
Situated in the early part of the 20th century, Bringing Up Sarge tells the story of Oscar "the Whiz" Walker, a minor-league baseball player and tap dancer. Confronted with World War I, the flu epidemic of 1919, prohibition, women's suffrage and the Great Depression, Oscar tries to navigate his way through life with his wife, three children, and his dog, Sarge. Can a family be so strong that even the worse transgressions are forgiven? Bringing Up Sarge is a story of love, betrayal, forgiveness, and redemption.
This novel, written during National Novel Writing Month, 2013, is currently under revision.
Me, My Guitar, and Elvis
Wendy is in love with Elvis Presley, her guitar, and her boyfriend Scott. When her guitar gets stolen, Wendy feels her life as a musician in New York City is over and falls into self-destructive behaviors. When she finally asks for help from Scott, is it too late? Can she find her way back? This story begins in the late 1950s when Elvis Presley is inducted into the army and follows Wendy's life until the day Elvis dies.
This novel, written during National Novel Writing Month, 2014, is currently under revision.