The Search for My Abandoned Grandmother

A genealogical search for Mary Ames Mitchell's British ancestors grows into a family saga and spiritual journey. Growing up, Mary often wondered about Eileen, the mysterious English grandmother who died in Great Britain long before Mary's birth in California. Mary had only known her step-grandmother, whose jealous and manipulative presence nearly obliterated the memory of her predecessor. Mary's quiet and usually preoccupied grandfather, Pryns Hopkins, remained spellbound by his second wife until his death and appeared to deny Eileen's existence as well. As a young adult, Mary uncovered a scrapbook and learned Pryns secretly archived treasured keepsakes and love poems from Eileen. However, Mary's mother, haunted by childhood secrets, learned about the scrapbook and had it destroyed. Forty years later, Mary suspects that a key to breaking through her mother's crusty shell lies in Eileen. So she embarks on a search through family records, library archives, English graveyards and personal journals that takes six years. "The Search for My Abandoned Grandmother" weaves Mary's compelling genealogical detective story with her grandfather's personal narrative of his life with his first wife, revealing a moving love story with political, sociological and personal resonance that spanned from 1921 to 1933. With generosity and tenderness, Mary Ames Mitchell unravels spiritual insights and truths about social obligation, personal integrity and family love.