Books

At Grandma’s House: The World War II Homefront in Havana, Illinois

For homefront civilians, life had its fun moments—the best of times; and we had many fearful occasions—the worst of times. But most of our days we kept busy with routine activities, like filling the coal bucket and corncob bucket to fire the cast iron kitchen range and the potbelly stove in the parlor. While doing our best to support the war “over there,” we literally kept the home fires burning. At Grandma’s House includes scenes from the panorama of wartime America:
saving scrap metal, paper, and even grease;
planting, hoeing, harvesting, and preserving a Victory Garden;
the trials and errors of the family’s fledgling frozen food locker;
the challenges of buying groceries, shoes, and gasoline with stamps from our ration books;
the pride of patriotism in buying savings books (and for kids, ten-cent savings stamps);
the encouragement to support the war effort from every medium, including newspapers, cartoons (Little Orphan Annie), movies, and government posters (Rosie the Riveter);
the rising status of women as they took over from men, in war factories and on Main Street;
the resurgence of civil rights as racial discrimination surfaced in the military and the workplace.

Read more about this book here.

Hiram Upright and the Good Time Feelin’

Hiram Upright, a country boy from a 1940s dysfunctional Illinois family, finds hot salvation (the good time feellin’), but loses both his downhome religion and his first sweetheart in a traumatic even that pushes him to the brink of murder and suicide. He drives legendary Route 66 across America on a spiritual journey from the Midwest to California, seeking a meditation path to cool enlightenment that will him avoid self-destruction and realize peace of mind.

Mixing religiosity and romance, this tale highlights the tension and interplay between grassroots American piety and oriental mysticism.

Read more about this book here.

The Twin Destiny Series

Praise for the Twin Destiny Series:

In No Pizza in Heaven, H. Byron Earhart uses his vast knowledge of comparative religion to craft a compelling study of how belief can both destroy and heal.
—Richard Lederer, best-selling author of books about language and history

Growing up in the 50’s I remember my mother going next door to have coffee with Betty.  Betty and mother would share the ups and downs and little ordinary details of their lives.  Years later when Betty passed away my mother shared with me the details of her friendship with Betty.  They were ordinary women.  They did not blast dragons from the sky or hack zombies or machine gun terrorist hordes. They were not prostitutes or princesses draped in diamonds.
This book is about one woman sharing with the reader the ups and downs of her life without machine guns or magic. There isn’t blood and guts oozing from the pages. We share with her hope for better times.  We don’t want her to lose her moral compass.  This book is sharing life with a friend.  It is warm, satisfying, and a pleasure to read.
—Sara Allen, Attorney

Faith’s quest for forgiveness is matched only by her professional expertise which becomes a part of her spiritual journey. This journey is especially challenging when she faces decisions about the twins’ father. The reader is drawn convincingly into her struggle and the conflicting emotions that result after she takes action. Faith’s saga examines religious beliefs, soul-searching, and the power of understanding and compromise when finding common ground. This is a thought-provoking read that leaves one fully satisfied.

J.T.