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As fireflies jitterbug to cricket music, the girls prick their fingers, sharing blood. "This makes us soul spirits, Jessie," Annie says, "our secrets safe with each other forever." Jessie tastes the words; they settle deeply into her being. "Forever," she repeats. In the racially-charged sixties, Annie Chase places a neatly printed "W" on her birth certificate in the space marked "Color or Race." The decision to become Anne Elinor Bradley changes her life forever, and puts her on the path of being exposed. Jessie Tyler, now a journalist with the prestigious Washington, DC Classic Magazine, receives a plum assignment that could supercharge her career: the chance to interview Anne Elinor Bradley, the potential first lady who some suspect is passing for white. After their reunion, Jessie's childhood vow haunts her as she is faced with a decision that could change the course of history. The Annie Chase Story is a moving exploration of friendship, loyalty, and the secrets people share, sometimes painful to keep |
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About the Author AILEEN RIDINGS BENNETT confirms in her writing style she is a “dyed-in-the-wool Southerner.” Born in a small town in Tennessee, she moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, growing up in a strange and secret town and era, she proclaims. Aileen has four children, two daughters and two sons, and an engineer husband, who was transferred often, the family having the opportunity to travel and live in many parts of the country. Life, Love and Laughter, a column she carried with her, was published in newspapers wherever she lived, being quickly picked up by surrounding cities. “My kids provided much ‘fodder’ for my column,” she says. Aileen studied creative writing under Arizola Magnenat, a published author
and journalist. When her husband retired from his company in Atlanta,
Georgia, the couple decided to return to Oak Ridge. “Our placemats
dwindled to two,” she says, which finally gave her time to write
her first novel, The Annie Chase Story. Aileen pursues her other writing
interests, such as free-lance essays and articles and writing for her
beloved Oak Ridge High School alumni. |
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