Half Moon, Full Heart

By Gene Cartwright

Book Overview

A Love Story Like No Other. There is nothing as pure as true young love. (Kleenex not included) Half Moon, Full Heart is best described as: 'Romeo & Juliet' cross 'Bridges of Madison County' en route to 'Cold Mountain'. If someone were to ask you to name the most famous lovers and heart-wrenching love story, you may be forgiven for answering: 'Romeo & Juliet. That's because you are likely unaware of David Joe Fallon, Jr. and Jessie Marie Taylor, and what the people of North-Central Texas, and many others, worlds away, have known for more than sixty years. Their love story many well have remained broadly unknown, except for the life-changing events in the life of Rachel Marin - a California woman sixteen hundred years, and more than a half century away. Following her divorce, a heartbroken Rachel Marin sells most of her possessions, and leaves California heading east, in search of a new life. En route, she stops in Texas and discovers a 60 year-old love story missing a final chapter. She helps to "write' it, and discovers her own reasons to live forever. "Half Moon, Full Heart" A Story of Young Love Half Moon, Full Heart masterfully bridges the present, and the past, as it chronicles the lives of two young lovers from a small Texas town. David Joe Fallon, Jr. and Jessie Marie Taylor are kept apart by the deep hatred between their respective fathers. Yet, their vow to love each other forever, sets in motion events that lead to their plan of escape, a tragedy, and a bitter-sweet triumph that cannot be imagined - It was 1955. Eisenhower ("Ike") was President; bread was eighteen cents; gas was twenty-three; Popsicles came two to a package; Elvis was twenty, and twelve year-olds, David Joe Fallon, Jr. and Jessie Marie Taylor were in love. It's been said that few, younger than twenty or so, could possibly know what true love is. That may be true, unless you happened to have been Jessie Marie and David Joe, and lived in Rosedale, a small, north-central Texas town, back in the 1950s. First taken with each other at age nine, these love-struck youngsters were not yet teens, when they professed a love so deep, in their hearts and minds, it transcended life itself. And in spite of Cyrus Ecclesiastes Taylor's success, in keeping his daughter and David Joe apart, there was never any doubt these two lived and breathed for each other. Not much else mattered to them. His efforts only served to steel their vows to love each other forever. Theirs was a love, cloaked with an aura of destiny, imbued with an air of inevitability. Most everyone in Rosedale knew that to be fact. And there could only have been one Jessie Marie and David Joe. Town folk, who were alive then, still speak of them in mythical tones. No true love story can rightly be told, without the mention of their names and the storybook lives they shared. David Joe and Jessie Marie live on. And more than sixty years later, the world beyond their part of Texas may never have known of and been inspired by them, except for events half a country and nearly half a century away, in southern California.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1475055315
• ISBN13: 9781475055313
• Release Date: March 2012
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow's Love Story

Gene does a fabulous job in weaving a love story that swells the heart with such emotion. It's a must read for lovers of romance and mystery

Getting through the storm

Rachel Loftin grew up with success on her mind. Meeting and falling in love with David Morin wasn't exactly her plan, but when it happened, she embraced it wholeheartedly. Going through the years with her husband seemed to be the pinnacle of her life, until she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Suddenly, the world as she once knew it came crashing down around her, especially when the husband she so dearly loved shut her out as if SHE were the disease. Ironically, after her divorce, Rachel finds out that she never had breast cancer, but was misdiagnosed. Feeling empty and alone, she leaves everything and everyone dear to her in California in an effort to "find" her true self. Stumbling to Rosedale, the home of her father, Rachel begins to learn that when life throws you punches, you don't have to fall down. Meeting someone new was never her intent; self-love was the main goal. While listening to the town's history, she also learns about a love story and family feud that spans across generations. With this new knowledge, and a new love interest, Rachel sees life through a different pair of eyes. HALF MOON, FULL HEART is a wonderfully woven tale of self-appreciation, true love at its finest and rebirth. With its colorful, rich, fairytale-like essence, this is sure to have you either getting a tissue or jumping for joy. Gene Cartwright has outdone himself with this novel, which is not just African-American literature, but a fine crossover in literary genre. If you're ever in the market for something different, this is a sure read that won't disappoint. Reviewed by Belinda of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers