First published 2013
Mary sits by a roadside in Central California in 1936, her children hungry and hope wearing thin. When photographer Vera Dare stops to document migrant workers, she captures Mary in a spontaneous moment that will become the iconic "Migrant Mother" image. Neither woman knows they have created the most recognizable photograph of the Great Depression. Mary battles poverty while guarding her deepest secrets and fighting for her family's survival. Vera struggles between her artistic ambitions and motherhood, making painful choices to pursue her work. Decades later, cultural history professor Walker Dodge uncovers a family mystery hidden within the famous photograph. As their stories unfold across time, Silver reveals how a single captured moment can define an era while barely touching the complex lives behind the image. The novel explores the cost of art, the weight of survival, and the unexpected ways our lives intersect with history.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, photography
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, found-family
Setting: California, Central California
Period: 1936, Decades Later
324 pages · Hardcover · Blue Rider Press