In All Good Faith Review

In All Good Faith
by Liza Nash Taylor

In All Good Faith personalizes The Great Depression through the experiences of two women facing the challenges of survival in 1932. 

May is a married mother of two, her father’s caregiver, and a desperate head of her family’s market and cannery in Virginia. The depression has taken its toll on the family’s income and relationships. May’s husband Byrd is too proud to support May’s business idea, since he believes it is the husband’s responsibility to provide for the household. Will May continue to struggle in her traditional family role, or will she expand her role to include running a candy business?

Dorrit is a girl living with her father in Boston. Her family has fallen apart with the death of her mother and departure of her older brother. She sews to bring in money, while her inventor father is literally trying to build a better mousetrap. Veterans are marching to Washington, DC to lobby Congress and President Hoover to give them their pensions. How will Dorrit handle life on the road, and will she have the resourcefulness she needs to survive?

Through these two women, the reader sees the conflicts caused by the changing roles of women and men during these hard times. Taylor does an excellent job drawing in the reader to care about these women and those close to them. I felt like I was beside Dorrit throughout her travels, based on Tayior’s beautiful scene descriptions and smart use of Dorrit’s diary to help understand her. The main characters’ geographic differences made it hard to see the similarities of their experience at first, but as their worlds expanded beyond their homes, it was easier to feel the connection. 

Anyone looking for a historical fiction novel looking at The Great Depression era would enjoy In All Good Faith. Anyone who enjoys stories driven by strong female characters would enjoy it too. If you enjoy a novel that pulls you into the characters’ lives and settings, this book is for you.