Publisher's Synopsis
Eleanor Roosevelt had grown up in wealth and privilege, but her life had been full of personal hardships. Energetic and determined as a First Lady, she was a lightning rod for critics who thought that her 'pet project' couldn't work -- but she held fast and proved them wrong. To the refugees from the mines, Arthurdale was the answer to their dreams. Here were tidy homes with furniture and indoor plumbing; a place for planting gardens, sending children to school, learning new trades in new industries, and working together for the good of the community. Arthurdale, nestled in the green hills of West Virginia, changed the lives of its first families forever. This is the story of the unlikely relationship between a president's wife, the poorest of the poor, and the dream they shared. It is told in part through the eyes, ears, and memories of those who were once children in Arthurdale. And it is a testament to a remarkable First Lady who never abandoned her ideals or the homesteaders, even through the government later did.
