A Letter in the Wall

It’s 1971, and Joan Dumann fears her ex-business partner wants her dead, but her anxiety is less about dying than feeling disrespected and invalidated. As she constructs a letter about her predicament, she revisits her past:

Born into a prominent Philadelphia Quaker family in 1915 and raised with privilege and opportunity, Joan wrestles with her turbulent thoughts and unfulfilled desires, often resulting in self-destructive tendencies. When she attempts to push against the norms for women of her time in order to forge her own identity, she is met with resistance. Yet she might also be her own worst enemy, often alienating those who care deeply for her. Both manipulative and vulnerable, naive and conniving, Joan is, like many people, complex and misunderstood.

Inspired by a letter written by the real Joan, found hidden in the wall of a Pennsylvania home more than half a century later, the story is a fictionalized imagining of who she was and what motivated her. Moving through several decades and events—from the 1918 influenza pandemic to Prohibition to the Great Depression to Vietnam—A Letter in the Wall examines the internal and external factors that influence one woman’s journey toward independence and empowerment.

“Fans of generational tales, mysteries, and strong heroines won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough."

—BookLife Reviews