Ohio Author Releases New Memoir, Just Paul

    DAYTON, OH, December 20, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Author Polly Britton of Pleasant Hill, Ohio is proud to announce the paperback release of Just Paul, a memoir about growing up in the 1950s and 60s, and especially about her father, a West Virginian who served his country in the Navy in World War II and who would come back to take a bride and raise a family. This is indeed an American story.

America was different in the 50s and 60s - before smart phones, tablets and the internet, seat belts and bicycle helmets. In some ways things were easier - simpler even. In other ways, life was harder. Britton's authentic voice captures the times in a way that will resonate with all those who experienced growing up when kids played outside all summer from dawn to dusk, rode their bikes everywhere, and knew that if they disobeyed Mom or Dad they'd get punished because they deserved it.

In this beautifully written and poignant memoir, the author reflects back through this excerpt:

"He sits by the window, staring out at the empty street which isn't really empty. He sees a small girl skipping down the sidewalk - bright, blonde, smiling to no one in particular, perhaps to the world which is always beautiful to the very young.

"Empty. The little girl has gone, disappeared around the corner or perhaps already grown just like his own. So fast. Yesterday she walked beside him holding onto his hand while tiny feet tried to keep up with his own. Bright, wide eyes stared up at him, seeing her giant, her own special god. "When I grow up, I'll marry someone just like you, Dad." Someone tall and strong, with a little dirt under his fingernails, she said. That was the way a man should be.

"He looked down at his hands. What would she think of them now? He held one out and frowned at the way it trembled. How long had it been doing that? He couldn't remember; suddenly it was just there, a part of him like the gray in his hair and the wrinkles by his eyes.

"Everything happened so fast. The sun came up, you had so much to do, so many things you'd been putting off. And it seemed you just got started and the sun went down, forcing you to lie awake, impatient for another day, another chance to finish what you'd started.

Where'd you go, little girl? His breath made smudges on the window and he idly drew a smiling face and watched it disappear.

"Come back. He sank into his favorite chair and laid his head in his hands. He'd cried that other time. When she went away to school...He tried so hard not to let it show. Never let her know he wasn't big and strong. Never look into her eyes because she'd see. So he hugged his little girl goodbye and when he let her go, she knew. Perhaps she'd always known.

"He felt a chill and drew the bathrobe close around him. Winters never used to be this cold. The Christmas she found the new blue bike under the tree she'd smiled and hugged him. Yes, it was very warm that year.

"When had she grown too old to hug? Hadn't he bounced her on his knee just yesterday?

"My little girl. Someone drew a line between you and me and dared one of us to cross over. I sit alone in this cold room and stare at mirrors in my mind, while you pass a tired old man on the street somewhere and weep."

John McClure, president of Signalman Publishing stated, "If historians and those interested in history want to get a sense of typical American family life in the middle to late 20th century, they need to read Just Paul. The author's completely honest account pulls no punches as she tells her own personal story as well as that of her father. A riveting read that is at times funny, but also very poignant, this book is a stand-out addition to American literature."

Just Paul (ISBN: 978-09896803-01, $14.99, Non-fiction/Memoir) is distributed through Amazon and can be purchased wherever fine books are sold.

About the Author
Polly Britton lives on a small farm outside Pleasant Hill, Ohio, where she is self-employed, which she'll tell you means you work twice as many hours for half as much pay, but you go to bed at night feeling good about yourself. She raises and sells nontraditional livestock for a living along with her writing and other projects. Just Paul is a happy book, even though some parts are sad, because that's just the way life is.

Signalman Publishing is an independent book publisher based in Kissimmee, Florida. Signalman has a wide range of thought-provoking literature from non-fiction titles on economics, education, and strategy to literary fiction.

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