Daybreak in Odessa

Authors from the 'Foothills & Vicinity Writes Group' came to 'Read, Write & Brew' on September 11th for a meet and greet. For those of you who were not able to attend, this blog post is about those authors who attended and the books they have published. Read on to learn about the writers living in your neighbourhood.

Daybreak in Odessa
A memoir by Rita Stout

"The family clockwise from upper right- Rita, a senior at the University who would graduate six months later; Walter, my father, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Heinrich the dog who bit the mailman; my brother, Wally, fourteen years old and in junior high; my sister Wendy, five years old; my mother, and my sister Lois, a freshman at the university. A year later in spring of 1959, as the family finished eating dinner, my father announced that he had just accepted a sabbatical at the University of Hawaii for the summer. Lois and I were welcome to come if we agreed to "be on deck" five days a week to take care of Wendy during the day. I balked. This had been my life to date, caretaker of the family. For the first time in my life I made other plans. This is my story."

This is an unusual coming of age story with unexpected twists and turns, a true account of a sheltered, naïve woman in her early twenties as she struggles to extricate herself from parents who, though well intentioned, were critical and controlling. In the desert of West Texas she meets a man who believes in her. With newfound confidence she learns to cope with both the joy and obstacles of life in a place vastly different from the home she left. Heartfelt and brutally honest, she shares the journey that each must take to give birth to one’s self.

Rita Stout teaches reading to college freshmen. Her first book, Not so Small a Circle, chronicles her only daughter's valiant but loosing battle with leukemia. She lives with her husband in Denver, Colorado.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Daybreak in Odessa, send a certified check or money order to: Rita Stout 2330 Yarrow St., Lakewood, CO 80214 (Please Allow 3 weeks for processing & mailing). PRICE: $18.00 (+ $3.00 shipping) total per book.