Julianne Sisung

Damselfly Julianne Sisung

Cora stared at her son's face but didn't see his eyes were glassy and fixed, the pupils large. She didn't notice his bluish hands and bare feet or see the inflexibility of his small body. Her own hands were stiff claws grasping him, and Jesse swallowed again and again trying to dislodge the wet lump stuck there, trying to speak when there was nothing good to say; words couldn't change anything. When diphtheria hits Pere Cheney, Jesse and her mother treat the sick using medicinal herbs cultivated from the forest surrounding their log home. But in 1893, people knew little about epidemic illnesses and believed a witch's spell, an Indian curse, or a woman's sin could cause their afflictions. Meet Bert the lumberjack, Esther the storekeeper, Ed with the angry ancestors, and papa Milos. With their help, Jesse confronts a deadly disease and struggles to save a dying town - and herself.