Glenda McWhirter Todd has published a new book, Heartbreak of a Civil War Widow, which contains information on the life of Sarah Harper McWhirter growing up in Smith Co., TN as the oldest of 15 children, her marriage to Andrew Ferrier McWhirter, their wagon train trip from TN to northwest Alabama, and the life she endured during and after the Civil War as a Unionist in the heart of the Confederacy. They first lived on the border of Smith & Warren Counties in TN. The book is about Sarah Harper McWhirter who watched her husband, three children and three brothers go off to fight in the 1st AL Cav., USV, while two other brothers fought for the Confederacy. It ranges from the factional to fictionalized. The factual obviously being the facts dealing with families, dates of birth, marriage, death, and other historical events. Civil War documents and diaries were also used. The letters written to Sarah by her sons and brothers were based on Official Records, Thomas A. McWhirter's Civil War Diary and other diaries written by other 1st Alabama Cavalry USV members who were serving alongside her sons and brothers when they wrote home. The author has made every attempt to match the fictionalized portions with the documented experiences and actions of the true Sarah Harper McWhirter. Each of the excerpts from diaries, Southern Claims, Civil War Pension Applications, speeches, Official Records, wills, etc. was left in its own unique style. In some instances, the people who wrote them were illiterate but the spelling was used exactly as it was found. Vintage portraits of the Harper families, as well as others, and other photographs enhance the text. The book includes the Harper family history which has been traced back to Oxfordshire, Noke, England in the early 1500's. Heritage Books, Incorporated, T5252, $30 Several people on the list has expressed an interest in this book when it was published. The book can be ordered from the following website, which says it might be up to 3 months before it is ready but it has already been approved by the editor and sent to the printer so should not be that long, and they will not charge credit cards until it is shipped. [1]http://heritagebooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HBI&Prod uct_Code=T5252&Category_Code= References 1. http://heritagebooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HBI&Product_Code=T5252&Category_Code=