Laurel Standley

A Memoir of the Depression Laurel Standley

In the early part of the 20th Century, an ambitious young man named John McQuaid sets out on a journey away from his ancestral home in Kansas toward the forested mountains of Oregon. Leaving his family's troubles behind, he rises into a place of power and respect as a homebuilder in the booming city of Portland. But as the Great Depression tightens its grip, John becomes resigned to watching his family slip into despair as his ability to provide for them collapses along with the economy. He wonders whether they will be able to recover. Decades later, a deep recession descends across the country. Bonnie Todd begins to wonder whether she too will wind up living in squalor like her grandparents after the Depression ended their dreams. Following the breakup of her marriage and receipt of yet another pink slip, Bonnie finds that she must reinvent her life and discover meaning in a new world. "A Memoir of the Depression" is a bittersweet story of lives derailed by economic collapse and family turmoil.