Patricia M Swayze

The Swan and the Moon Patricia M Swayze

In the mid-1960s, seventeen-year-old Clara finds herself uprooted from her Wisconsin home when her family moves to the small and seemingly quiet town of Lily, Alabama.



In Lily, Clara finds a town where segregation is still considered both right and proper and where young women are expected to follow a very specific path-namely, they're supposed to marry right after high school. Clara's new boyfriend, Dan, is fine with that idea, although he seems to be more interested in avoiding the draft than marrying for love.



As Beatlemania, the civil rights movement, and the dawning women's movement sweep the nation, Clara's homelife has its own challenges. Her parents seem to favor her brilliant brother, David, and when they speak of her Danish great-grandmother, it's in subdued tones.



When life becomes too much, Clara escapes to the peaceful pond close to her home. There she tries to make sense of the world with her imaginary friend. At night, she dreams of a swan flying across the moon. She's not sure what her dream means, but Clara suspects that wherever that swan is headed, it's not to an early marriage in Lily, Alabama.