Home to Mackinac: The Tale of Young Jack Murphy’s Discovery of Loyalty, Family, and Forgiveness
Following the deaths of the grandparents who raised him, Ohio farm boy Jack Murphy journeys to Mackinac Island in search of his roots. There he discovers the meaning of loyalty, family and forgiveness. Readers will enjoy this trip back to Mackinac of the 1880s.
From the book: “I hope I find her thought Jack. He pulled his jacket closer against the brisk April wind. Jack Murphy liked knowing what to expect. … Yet here he stood. On the steamboat Algomah, the island called Mackinac within view. … Alone for the first time in fourteen years. … Pocketing his hands for warmth, Jack touched his train ticket stub. The ticket that originally had Boston printed on the destination. Until Jack had found himself standing at the train station ticket window having it stamped Detroit instead. Jack knew he wasn’t where he was supposed to be … But he was where he had to be. Could it have been only a week ago that he’d sat by his grandmother’s deathbed in Ohio as she mumbled her last prayers? … [and] Heard her quiet confessions echoing in his ears? ….
Approaching an older women behind a shiny wood counter, Jack paused before speaking. … “Excuse me,” Jack asked. “Does a girl … young lady … named Maggie Murphy work here?” … “She’ll be done on the hour and none the sooner” [said the older women]. Jack chewed the fingernails on his right hand to pass the time. … Ten minutes after it chimed six, a girl entered the lobby. …”
And so begins the new life and adventures of Jack Murphy.
