Me ‘N’ Shorty Leave the present world behind as you step into an extraordinary tale of two seventeen year olds, in this sweeping novel set against a United States that had been plunged into despair by the Great Depression. The year was 1936, young Will Shaine’s world had revolved around his beloved parents and the magnificent thoroughbred horses that they’d raised and trained on the family’s horse farm. But now the death of his parents had left him alone in the world. He sat in the now quiet solitude of his home; the mantel clock seemed to be ticking away the seconds of his life, when he came to a life changing decision. He would sell the family property and go west to California. Out of respect for the hard work his family had invested in their horse farm, Will was determined not to squander, what would be his only inheritance. He placed the money in a money belt and would take it west. James Lotus Duke II, otherwise known as Shorty, left his family’s farm in Tennessee after a final physical confrontation with his alcoholic abusive father. His father told him to get off the property and never come back. Shorty hit the road with 17 years of emotional scars. Would his intelligence and wild sense of humor be enough to overcome his father’s voice that haunts his mind and tells him he’ll never be any good, and the ultimate dream crushing echo, “I wish you were never born.” Timely, as if an unseen force recognizes their needs, Will and Shorty are joined together for their passage across the continent. As they walk, hitch rides and hop trains, reality dictates that they grow up fast. They had no idea of what awaited them on the road. They find themselves exposed to the extremes of enormous wealth and to hobo camps and Hoovervilles, where people are struggling to get enough to eat. They cross paths with many colorful characters; some good, some bad, and some unhinged from reality. The worst of the worst lead them into dark life-threatening suspense, where seventeen year olds should not have to go. As they work their way across America they are also exposed to honest people with dreams of prosperity and goodness. It doesn’t take long before Will and Shorty meet and fall in love with two American girls. Their relationships are so intense that they believe they will last forever. But like so many in times past, they feel a responsibility to establish a secure situation for their loved ones. Soon they find themselves back on the road aching with sweet sorrow from being separated from their girls, but with a renewed sense of purpose. The love of a distressed and troubled racehorse will lead them in a direction they did not expect, as pure adventure and life threatening situations continue to challenge them. Is young love strong enough to pull them through?
