Dorothy Allred Solomon
“I am the only daughter of my father's fourth plural wife, twenty-eighth of forty-eight children—a middle kid, you might say, with a middle kid's propensity for identity crisis.” This first line from chapter one of Daughter of the Saints defines my place in the family constellation and the dilemmas I've faced throughout my life. I believe I've had a happier childhood than most people; nonetheless my family was plagued by secrecy and lies, by poverty and the threat of prison and government raids. I was unable to reconcile the inequities and illegalities of the polygamous lifestyle and broke with the fundamentalist group to marry my high school sweetheart. Now, many years, four children and a growing number of grandchildren later, I know that monogamy can be as challenging as polygamy, and that happiness is a do-it-yourself project. My late husband, a Vietnam veteran, has been an example of courage and commitment in the face of discouraging odds, and he has inspired me to keep on a path with purpose throughout life. After his passing, I married an author of detective fiction, Christopher "Topper" Jones.
