eSource: The Ballad of Jessie Pearl

It’s 1922, and fourteen-year-old Jessie has big plans. She’s going to go to teachers’ college, get out of her small North Carolina town, and see the world. But when tuberculosis strikes her family, she’s forced to put her dreams on hold. There’s no cure yet for the deadly disease, so as Jessie’s older sisters weaken, it’s up to Jessie to keep the household running and take care of her baby nephew. Amidst cooking, cleaning, and nursing, will she still be able to carve out the life she wants for herself?