Reasonable Joy: A Novel by Lauren Sanders-Jones

Found on her biological father's doorstep in Raleigh, NC the morning after her birth in 1899, Rainey Clark grows up in a loving household. After her parents' deaths, Rainey moves to Washington, DC with her late father's wealthy and outspoken sister, a speakeasy owner. She meets William "Step" Herndon, who is soon her ideal love match, or so she thinks. They marry, or so she thinks, she becomes pregnant, and their marriage falls apart when Step's sordid true nature is revealed to her. After her son is born, and her husband dies under mysterious circumstances, Rainey returns to Raleigh, and later marries Attorney William Davis, who adopts her son. They have two daughters, and their life is idyllic compared to many Southern blacks. Rainey and her family are devastated by a life-altering event in 1960. Will she survive this time of hideous misery? Will her deepest secrets be revealed before she can resume some semblance of her former life? Rainey is a woman who survives, thrives, and endures! Read more