Gabhart, Ann H.  
  
  
    It is 1936 and Kate Merritt works hard to keep her family together. Her father slowly slips into alcoholism and his business suffers during the Great Depression. As her mother tries to come to grips with their situation and her sisters seem to remain blissfully oblivious to it
 it is Kate who must shoulder the emotional load. Who could imagine that a dirty
 abandoned little girl named Lorena Birdsong would be just what the Merritts need?