Unspoken: Secrets and Survival in the Texas Dust Bowl

By Jann Alexander

"Reminds me, in tone, of Texas classics like The Time it Never Rained and Giant. I loved it. Alexander is a great new talent in the genre of Texana." -W.F. Strong, author, Stories From Texas, and radio commentator for NPR Texas

A Farm Devastated. A Dream Destroyed. A Family Scattered. And One Texas Girl Determined to Salvage the Wreckage.

Ruby Lee Becker can't breathe. It's 1935 in the heart of the Dust Bowl, and the Becker family has clung to its Texas Panhandle farm through six years of drought, dying crops, and dust storms. On Black Sunday, the biggest blackest storm of them all threatens ten-year-old Ruby with deadly dust pneumonia and requires a drastic choice -one her mother, Willa Mae, will forever regret.

To survive, Ruby is forced to leave the only place she's ever known. Far from home in Waco, and worried her mother has abandoned her, she's determined to get back.

Even after twelve years, Willa Mae still clings to memories of her daughter. Unable to reunite with Ruby, she's broken by their separation.

Through rollicking adventures and harrowing setbacks, the tenacious Ruby Lee embarks on her perilous quest for home -and faces her one unspoken fear.

Heart-wrenching and inspiring, the tale of Ruby Lee's dogged perseverance and Willa Mae's endless love for her daughter shines a light on women driven apart by disaster who bravely lean on one another, find comfort in remade families, and redefine what home means.

"Unspoken grabs your heart and doesn't let go. Ruby Lee Becker's silence is louder than any storm. The Texas Panhandle in Unspoken is tough country-storms, drought, loss-but Ruby meets it head-on. There's grit and grace here. Unspoken will stick around in your mind, because legacy isn't just what's passed down. It's what you refuse to let slip away." -Historical Novel Society, EDITORS' CHOICE

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1685136222
• ISBN13: 9781685136222
• Release Date: July 2025
• Publisher: Black Rose Writing
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Secrets

5 stars, Secrets UNSPOKEN: The Dust Series by Jann Alexander Ruby Lee Becker is ten and she's telling you all about her experiences living in the Texas Panhandle, near Hartless, during the dust bowl. In 1935, her granny and baby sister Nell have just died from dust pneumonia. Ruby Lee gets sick with the dust pneumonia and her pa sends her and her older brother Will on the train to Waco, to live with a distant relative. Ruby Lee's momma, Willa Mae can't deal with losing her mother, youngest daughter, and now her oldest daughter from the dust pneumonia, so Ruby Lee's father has her committed at an insane asylum. The story is dually narrated, by Ruby Lee and her momma Willa Mae. The ending was a little odd, to me. I liked hearing about Ruby Lee's adventures, you feel for her, wishing that you could offer her some support-physical or financial. I received a complimentary copy of #Unspoken by #JannAlexander #BlackRoseWriting #LibraryThing I was not obligated to post a review. #dustbowl #orphans #mentalasylum #dustpneumonia #deathofachild #deathofaparent #familydysfunction #bingedbook #historicalfiction #Texas