Even in the worst of times there is hope-IF you are prepared to keep fighting. It was the worst of times-the Great Depression-and for one family it spelled disaster. Within a few years they had gone from a beautiful home in Westchester County, to a dilapidated farm in Appalachia. The father, once vice-president of a prosperous New York brokerage firm in the Chrysler Building, became dependent on handouts from relatives. The mother went from buying expensive clothes at Lord & Taylor, to wearing cast-offs sent to her by an older sister. And the little girl? The little girl witnessed it all, experienced it all and overcame it all. Mary Anne Butler takes you into the Depression Era, and the years that followed, in a way that can only be done by a person who lived through it. In addition to overnight poverty, she had to face religious prejudice, sexual harassment, and workplace inequity. Yet, through it all, one simple theme keeps shining through: Nothing is inevitable as long as you are willing to keep fighting. Down But Not Out is not just a memoir. It's a message of hope to everyone in today's economic times. Utterly charming! Butler makes you laugh one minute and cry the next. You will be unable to put the book down.