A historic fiction set in Emmett during the 1918 influenza epidemic and written by a St. Clair County native is set to be released next month.
Michele Feeney has pursued creative writing for 20 years and ended up in a program at Bennington College around the time the COVID-19 pandemic began. As she navigated through the COVID shutdowns with her family, she remembered stories her grandmother told her about the 1918 influenza epidemic. Noticing the similarities of the two pandemics, Feeney was then inspired to write her first novel, “Like Family.”
Feeney took some inspiration from her own childhood, including her family farm in Emmett as the setting for her book.
Feeney now resides in Arizona but frequently comes back to St. Clair County as she owns a home here and shares ownership of the Wendling family farm in Emmett.
“I started taking creative writing classes around 2001, and I never dreamed that I would be able to get a book of mine published by an independent publisher,” Feeney said.
“Like Family” follows Mollie Crowley, a 26-year-old Irish, unmarried teacher as she takes care of Cecilia Pokorski, an 8-year-old Polish girl who was orphaned after her family died during the 1918 influenza epidemic. Mollie leans on her mother, Catherine, for assistance in taking in Cecilia. In their rural town, there is mistrust between the Irish and Polish residents, and people fear “the sickness” and treat Cecilia with suspicion and fear.
The three of them are isolated on their family farm while they face these struggles.
“Like Family” explores theme of prejudice related to ethnicity, social status and religion. It also follows themes of intentional family versus biological family, feminism, grief, education, cultural differences and the power of love.
“Like Family” officially releases on Aug. 15. The book is available for preorder via a link on Feeney’s website at www.michele-feeney.com. People can receive a 15% discount by using the code PREORDER2024. Once released, people can then find the book through Amazon and Black Rose Writing.
There will be a meet the author event at 6 p.m. on Sept. 30 at the Port Huron Library. Attendees will hear an excerpt from “Like Family” before the event is opened up to a question and answer session. The event is free to attend.
Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com.
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