Mourning Doves After the Fire

This is a story of love and loss, of passion and tragedy, and of the triumph of the spirit in both man and beast. Pennsylvania 1910. Abby Whitman, a twenty-eight year old secretary with an interest in classical music, lives with her mother, Maggie, who works as a part-time seamstress to help make ends meet. Abby pays a visit to Dr. Raymond Fletcher, whom she secretly fancies and he gives her the unfortunate news that she has a cancer. Dr. Fletcher is devoted to Abby and he seeks the aid of a renowned doctor who has apparently discovered an experimental treatment that has proven to eradicate cancer. During a camping trip, Abby befriends Madison, a young girl, who shares with Abby an interest in music and who will provide a dramatic change in Abbys life. Abby is under Dr. Fletchers personal care and an appreciation for each other develops as he begins to treat her cancer and her prognosis remains uncertain. A subplot to the human story involves a female mourning dove, recently widowed, and her bird neighbors who nest in the large oak tree near Abbys house. As the human story develops so does the story of heartache and resolve in the birds as their own existence is constantly threatened. The birds serve as a witness to the human story around them as well as their own.