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Min Lee cover

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To order Gracie & Albert on Amazon, please click on the link below:

Minnie Lee Gartley, POW mother 1970s

Praise for Gracie & Albert

“Couched in sharp images and  genuine interior dialogue, we enter the frightful world of the asylum within the alert mind of Gracie as her family around her breaks apart. In the tragic aftermath of her abuse as a child, Gracie attempts to regain her balance in the harsh world of rural Maine. There is much to learn here. Ms. Gillespie is an artist of words.” Cynthia Fraser Graves, author of Never Count Crows: love and loss in Kennebunk, Maine  and Dusk on Route 1.

“I loved this beautifully crafted story that tugs at your heart strings. I ached for Gracie, and admired how she ultimately found the strength to ‘muddle’ through life after such dark beginnings. Her story has staying power and will long linger with me. Many of us, no doubt, regretfully carry questions unasked about our parents’ early lives–this author found her answers and dealt with them in such a powerful and moving way.” Jean Flahive, author of Billy Boy: The Sunday Soldier of the 17th Maine and many children’s books.

“Beautiful handling of a very emotional theme. I confess to being part of this author’s family, a cousin, the daughter of “Flippie” mentioned in the book. Flippie was Gracie’s older sister, fortunate enough to be taken by the state into a wonderful family at the age of 4. Gracie, an infant at that time, was left behind and never had Flippie’s advantages. Therefore, I can attest to the “non-fiction” aspect of this book, to its validity and the beautiful sensitive way Cheryl describes her mother’s experiences. Having met Gracie myself as a child and a teen, I had always  personally found her fascinating, witty and very colorful, often using language I didn’t hear elsewhere, traits Cheryl illustrates very well in her narrative. This book deals only with the time Cheryl’s mother was a patient in the Maine state hospital in Augusta, the rest of her life barely touched upon, so there is a lot of room for a sequel which I certainly hope she writes. I am so impressed with Cheryl’s handling of the emotional turmoil, the problems Gracie faced in the hospital, the brutality of the treatment, the way her early life had soured her ability to relate easily to people yet did not destroy her. I found myself feeling great empathy and sympathy for her, having learned through this book a lot more that I ever knew before. Bravo, cousin Cheryl, for a job well done!  Rebecca Wagner

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