So Much for the White Picket Fence

Karen LaGraff has a B.S. in Education from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and a M.ED. from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She has worked for UTC as a student teacher supervisor and for the state of Tennessee under the Early Intervention program evaluating pre-school children. She taught elementary school for eighteen years before retiring. She now does volunteer work for the Ronald McDonald House, the Hart Gallery, and Bridge Refugee Services. She enjoys reading, writing, traveling, exercising, gardening and spending time with family and friends. She has three grown sons, two grandsons, and lives in Chattanooga with her husband.

So Much for the White Picket Fence gives an intimate and gritty look inside a long-term marriage. The author shares her journey of letting go of the fantasies and idealized portrayal of the perfect marriage and family life. The author comes to terms with life's unfairness through several dramatic life experiences---the loss of a young love, birth of a handicapped son, another son's addiction, and her husband's affair. She writes openly about the pain and lessons she learned and the impact each of these had on her family members. Her story touches on all the universal emotions-love and hate, loss and fulfillment, fear and courage, joy and sorrow, trust and betrayal. A thread of hope weaves through its pages, giving inspiration to anyone dealing with disappointment, disillusionment, or despair. The author's book depicts in vivid detail that over time and with love you can get through anything.