About the Book

This honest story paints a postcard of small town life in post World War II America. The Burden of Guilt is set in a small farming town in Kansas in the late 1940s. Travel back 65 years to a time when life should have been joyous, but for one young woman, it was an era filled with temptation and bad choices.

Emma made several mistakes in her youth. She falls in love with her sister’s boyfriend, but her sister tricks the man into marriage, breaking Emma’s heart. Years later, Emma returns to town and tries to come to terms with her sister’s marriage. She marries a man she doesn’t love, and when he turns out to be a mean drunk, she experiences abuse at his hands. Emma withdraws from life and loses her former confidence.

By reassessing her life and overcoming her insecurities, Emma uses her education to become a teacher and finally regains her self-respect. She also triumphs to find the love she has always been searching for. This touching story of a woman who endures much after her heart is broken, is truly a tale of Endurance to Strength.

About the Author

The mother of four, Judie Withers lives in Colby, Kansas. She and her late husband previously ran a large ranch. This is her first book. She was previously published in Folktales of the High Plains by Dale Anderson (Ginn Press), writing a short story about a Kansas blizzard titled “After the Storm,” which was included in the collection. She has also published poetry in several literary magazines.