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About A Matter of Happiness
A cherished heirloom opens up a century of secrets in a bittersweet novel about family, hard truths, and self-discovery by the bestselling author of Millicent Glenn's Last Wish.
Melanie Barnett thinks she has it all together. With an ex-fiancé and a pending promotion at a Kentucky bourbon distillery, Melanie has figured out that love and career don't mix. Until she makes a discovery while cleaning her Jordan MX car: a scarlet-red symbol of the Jazz Age's independent women that she inherited from her great-great-great-aunt Violet. Its secret compartment holds Violet's weathered journal-within it an intriguing message: Take from this story what you will, Melanie, and you can bury the rest. Melanie wonders, what more is there to learn from Violet's past?
In 1921 Violet Bond defers to no one. Hers is a life of adventure in Detroit, the hub of the motorcar boom and the fastest growing city in America. But in an era of speakeasies...
About Tori
Tori Whitaker is the bestselling author of Millicent Glenn's Last Wish and A Matter of Happiness. She belongs to the Bourbon Women Association and the Historical Novel Society. Her work has appeared in the Historical Novels Review and Bookmarks magazine. Tori graduated from Indiana University, is an alum of the Yale Writers' Workshop, and is recently retired from a national law firm where she served as chief marketing officer. She spent a decade in Detroit because of her husband's career in the automotive industry. The two now reside near their children outside Atlanta and have been married for forty-six happy years.
Praise for Tori's Books
“A story about strength, fate, and choice, Whitaker crafts a riveting read you will not want to put down until the very last page."
—Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Surviving Savannah on
A Matter of Happiness
“Tori Whitaker explores the depths of mother-love with heart-wrenching honesty in this post–World War II story brimming with exceptional historical detail.”
—Susan Meissner, bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things on
Millicent Glenn's Last Wish
". . . so vividly written the reader can see the fringe of the flappers' dresses, hear the jazz from the speakeasies, and taste the bourbon. A dual timeline novel, both the 1920s and the contemporary stories proceed with delectable suspense and feature strong, independent women characters I adored-and who I'm still thinking about days later."
—Joy Jordan-Lake, bestselling author of Under a Gilded Moon and A Bend of Light on
A Matter of Happiness
“Tenderly told and full of heart.... Tori Whitaker’s debut offers a fresh and poignant perspective on motherhood, loss, and, ultimately, forgiveness.”
—Lynda Cohen Loigman, bestselling author of The Two-Family House and The Matchmaker's Gift on Millicent Glenn's Last Wish
". . . an inspiring intergenerational story. . . . Secrets unravel, revealing the loving sacrifices made by the women of a family with roots on the Bourbon Trail."
—Lynn Cullen, national bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and The Woman with the Cure on
A Matter of Happiness
"With astute attention to historical detail . . . the tale of two strong-willed women. You'll find yourself rooting for these two . . . connected by a cherished 1923 Jordan MX."
—Nicola Harrison, author of The Show Girl on
A Matter of Happiness
Latest from Tori's Notes
Some say, “You can never go back.” But is it true? Click the link where my essay in the Spring-Summer 2023 issue of Southbound Magazine explores this question! Southbound Bern’s 2023
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