MSI Press Blog

  Sharon Cole's book, Hazel and Olaf reached #4 among hot new releases in the category of Great Depression and #24 in depression history (Amazon general category). Book Description: They sold the farm, packed up seven children, and chased a promise called California. Based on Hazel’s journal, this true story follows a family that leaves Wisconsin hoping for relief from brutal winters—only to run out of money with hundreds of miles still to go. Stranded and desperate, they enter a world of labor camps, endless fieldwork, hunger, and exhaustion, where families are worked hard, paid little, and treated as disposable. Once respected and secure, they find themselves suddenly labeled vagrants. Pride becomes a liability. Dignity must be defended daily. And survival depends on grit, faith, and refusing to give up—especially for Hazel, who will not allow poverty to erase who she is or break her family apart. This is a raw, gripping true story of endurance, injustice, and a woman who stood ...

  When we think of Labor Day, we often picture barbecues, parades, and a long weekend. But the holiday was born from struggle — from the fight for dignity in work. And few places remind us of that struggle more starkly than the migrant labor camps of Depression-era California. In the 1930s, thousands of families fled the Dust Bowl, chasing rumors of steady work in California’s fields. What they found instead were overcrowded camps, makeshift tents, and endless rows of crops that promised survival but rarely delivered security. These were the “Okies” and “Arkies” — men, women, and children who bent their backs under the sun for pennies a day. They were not lazy or broken; they were displaced, resilient, and determined to live. The government eventually built federal camps — places like Arvin, Shafter, and Weedpatch — where sanitation, education, and community began to take root. Dorothea Lange’s photographs and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath captured their faces and their end...

  Sharon Cole's book, Hazel and Olaf reached #4 among hot new releases in the category of Great Depression and #24 in depression history (Amazon general category). Book Description: They sold the farm, packed up seven children, and chased a promise called California. Based on Hazel’s journal, this true story follows a family that leaves Wisconsin hoping for relief from brutal winters—only to run out of money with hundreds of miles still to go. Stranded and desperate, they enter a world of labor camps, endless fieldwork, hunger, and exhaustion, where families are worked hard, paid little, and treated as disposable. Once respected and secure, they find themselves suddenly labeled vagrants. Pride becomes a liability. Dignity must be defended daily. And survival depends on grit, faith, and refusing to give up—especially for Hazel, who will not allow poverty to erase who she is or break her family apart. This is a raw, gripping true story of endurance, injustice, and a woman who stood ...

  What happens when the baby in the family occasionally “dies” or lives in constant danger of dying? The answer is surprisingly simple, because we witnessed it firsthand. They become eternally bonded—and exceptionally independent. Whenever Doah stopped breathing or slipped into a clinical death, Donnie and I were wholly absorbed with him. We would tear out of the driveway behind the ambulance, racing to the children’s hospital miles away. At home, nine‑year‑old Lizzie—old enough to babysit, but just barely—took command. She kept Shane and Noelle organized. She catheterized Noelle on schedule. She taught 23‑month‑old Shane to read and to follow along with her fourth‑grade lessons. No one told her he was too young, so he never knew he was. One day we heard him reading a book aloud… then another… then a stack of flash cards. The preschool we enrolled him in was equally stunned; overnight, they promoted him to first grade. This crucible of crisis created more than bonding. It forged in...

  Pre-order sales available on Amazon . Release date: June 30. Paperback release date: June 30. Watch for it. Book Description: They sold the farm, packed up seven children, and chased a promise called California. Based on Hazel’s journal, this true story follows a family that leaves Wisconsin hoping for relief from brutal winters—only to run out of money with hundreds of miles still to go. Stranded and desperate, they enter a world of labor camps, endless fieldwork, hunger, and exhaustion, where families are worked hard, paid little, and treated as disposable. Once respected and secure, they find themselves suddenly labeled vagrants. Pride becomes a liability. Dignity must be defended daily. And survival depends on grit, faith, and refusing to give up—especially for Hazel, who will not allow poverty to erase who she is or break her family apart. This is a raw, gripping true story of endurance, injustice, and a woman who stood her ground when everything was taken away. Endorsement:...

  Pre-order sales available on Amazon . Release date: June 30. Paperback release date: June 30. Watch for it. Book Description: They sold the farm, packed up seven children, and chased a promise called California. Based on Hazel’s journal, this true story follows a family that leaves Wisconsin hoping for relief from brutal winters—only to run out of money with hundreds of miles still to go. Stranded and desperate, they enter a world of labor camps, endless fieldwork, hunger, and exhaustion, where families are worked hard, paid little, and treated as disposable. Once respected and secure, they find themselves suddenly labeled vagrants. Pride becomes a liability. Dignity must be defended daily. And survival depends on grit, faith, and refusing to give up—especially for Hazel, who will not allow poverty to erase who she is or break her family apart. This is a raw, gripping true story of endurance, injustice, and a woman who stood her ground when everything was taken away. Endorsement:...