Brothers for Life: Hoosiers at the Crossroads

Brothers for Life is a true story of the hardships and momentous events that two brothers, Myles F. Parrish (my Father) and Richard K. Parrish (my Uncle), experienced together from early childhood and throughout their entire lives. It is a narrative of faith, hope, tenacity, and the willingness of two brothers to risk everything in their determination to overcome all adversities. Each brother was driven by some deeply embedded inner psyche to prove to himself, to his family, and to the community writ large, that he could not only survive but that he would also be "a victor in the midst of strife."

Each chapter begins with a "time capsule" which helps the reader understand what other events were happening in America beyond the confines of that small Midwestern town where I grew up (Decatur, Indiana). The first chapter steps back in time with the wounding of the brothers' Grandfather on a Civil War battlefield. Thereafter, the reader will relive the brothers' mutually life-altering experiences in early childhood, witness their behavior and resourcefulness during the Great Depression, followed by their call to arms in the Second World War. As the postwar decades unfolded, the two brothers continued to experience a series of personal and professional successes as well as shared sorrows, all in light of the remarkable time in which they lived.

This entwined epic tale of two determined brothers is also the chronicle of an American family's generational struggles, scares, setbacks, and successes. Their story, in many ways, mirrors that of our own nation in its continued quest for a more perfect union.