Martha Rose Sloan Clinton Abbott

Rose's father dies when she is three, leaving her alone with her beautiful mother, Helen. Rose admires her mother, loves to watch her help people at her makeup counter in the department store where she works, even if she does not always like the advice her mother gives her at home. Helen is Catholic, therefore Rose is raised in the church and spends a great deal of time during her adolescents waiting for God to give her a sign that will tell her if she should be a nun or a wife. When Rose meets Thomas Clinton, she decides his devotion to her before she even knows his name is a sign. Rose marries Thomas and quickly settles down to married life. However, Rose feels a tightness in her chest each night as she lies beside her husband in bed, a tightness that only...