by Flora Parker (Author)
In her memoir, My Life in Song and Praise, Flora Parker details eight and a half decades of her eventful life that encompasses dramatic changes in society, culture, and American history. Mississippi farm life in the 1930s and '40s comes to vivid life in descriptions of her formative years and the influence of her father, a successful farmer and talented music director, and her mother, a gifted cook and gardener. Fate unfolds as Parker sets out on a westbound train out of New Orleans the day after graduating from high school in 1953 from the rural south to California Central Valley. Parker tells an inspiring story of love, family, and success as a businesswoman, social worker, dedicated first lady, and self-taught organist who is guided by faith all her life. Determination, vision, style, and the gift of hearing music and being able to find that music on the keyboard are all part of her song of life, told here in Parker's engaging voice.