Cruel Harvest - Book Review

There are so many ways Fran Grubb's life could have gone. Abused and mistreated by her father, abandoned by her mother, and denied an education, Grubb could have grown up harboring hate and never breaking free from her father's or anyone else's iron grip. But Grubb learned what real love meant and how to forgive thanks to her faith in God.

Cruel Harvest is the story of Grubb's childhood. She was the fifth of seventh children in a family of migrant workers. Wherever there was cotton or fruit to pick, that's where her family went. Dad, Mom, and all the children (no matter their age and despite the fact that they should have been sent to school) had to work. And then their father spent all the money on alcohol, beat them, and molested Grubb's oldest sister (and eventually Grubb and some of the other children). One of Grubb's brothers was sold to an uncle for $5. Eventually the family began to break apart. The children either ran away or were sent to an orphanage or worse. Grubb was the last one to get away from her father. It's a heartbreaking and sad story that might be difficult for some people to read.

In between stories from Grubb's childhood, Grubb tells us the story of how she found her brothers and sisters again, whom she hadn't seen since they were children, with the help of her husband Wayne.

Grubb doesn't go into detail about what happened to her after she ran away from her father when she was 16. She gives us a glimpse: marriage to someone just like her father, two kids, divorce, alcoholism, God, second marriage. I wish we had learned more about how Grubb was able to get out of her first marriage, how her kids are doing, how she made it as a single mom with little education, and how she eventually came to trust in God. But we don't get any of that, unfortunately. Perhaps Grubb is saving that story for another book.

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