One of the Top Ten Books by Iowa Authors of 2023

Tyler Granger, founder of the Windsor Heights Book Fair and author of Iowa Trouble, announced the Top Ten Books by Iowa Authors of 2023. Number 7 is What Leora Never Knew by Joy Neal Kidney:

“Joy Neal Kidney’s October 17th, 2023 release, What Leora Never Knew, is more than just a book; it’s a granddaughter’s poignant excavation of family history and a companion piece to Leora’s Letters, their shared legacy etched in the crucible of World War II. Devouring it in a single afternoon, I found myself captivated by the tale, each document and photograph a silent witness to the family’s grief. The toneless telegrams announcing tragedy after tragedy — ‘The Secretary of War desires me to express his regrets…’ — resonated with a heartbreaking finality, amplified by Kidney’s sparse, Midwestern prose. Yet, amidst the crushing blows, life continued in rural Iowa. Hope flickered amidst uncertainty as the family regrouped, comforting Leora and sharing the weight of her sorrow.

“With her first three books, Kidney gifted us an intimate glimpse into the lives of a single Iowa family, a microcosm of America where ordinary lives intertwined with extraordinary sacrifice. Leora’s Letters laid bare the raw truth of losing three of five sons to the war. Now, in What Leora Never Knew, Kidney meticulously reconstructs the lives of these men, weaving a tapestry of their hopes, dreams, and tragic fates. Read not for the sadness, but for the heroism it illuminates. This is a tale not just of one family, but of countless farm boys, truck drivers, and factory workers who traded their furrows, wrenches, and tools for the uncertain promise of freedom. In their sacrifice, we glimpse the debt we owe, a debt that can only be repaid by upholding the ideals for which they gave their all.”

Here’s Tyler Granger’s Amazon Author Page.