Jan/Feb 2024 (Volume 16, Issue 1)
By John Busbee
Joy Neal Kidney’s special series continues, beguiling ever more readers to savor her family journey at its core. “What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter’s Quest for Answers” expands the original trilogy with this new, heart-touching tome. Through research and remembrance, Kidney travels beyond the boundaries of her original source material, her mother’s writings and memories, into a more complete understanding of the fates of three casualties of war.
“Only one is buried at home,” Kidney writes. “I didn’t know that until my mid-40s, when Grandma Leora died. Having helped with Memorial Day flowers for three graves all those decades, I had to know what happened, why one is buried overseas, and why one has never been found.”
That irresistible seed took root, and Kidney’s passionate tenacity for uncovering historical details grew. Answering unanswered questions in her grandmother’s original narrative became the driving force behind her fourth book. Fans of Kidney’s first books will savor joining her on this new quest. New readers will appreciate this tome’s connecting the historical dots of her grand-uncles’ World War II service, anchored by the unthinkable loss of three of the five men from that generation.
Kidney’s penchant for capturing facts and weaving them into her family history brings a richer understanding from a grassroots level. War is often recounted on an epic scale, but Kidney’s pulling it down to her family’s level gives it a sobering, impactful reality. Readers will better learn why this was “The Greatest Generation.”
She begins with and builds this telling from a universal touchstone: Memorial Day and its ubiquitous paper poppies. For her family and myriad other families across America, Memorial Day has been a time for reverential remembrance. Those poppies continue to serve as a reminder of the legacies and ultimate sacrifices of those who served. Leora knew the heartache left in the wake of her losses and solemnly displayed her three-gold star flag in her home’s window. Those powerful images continue to resonate through Kidney’s honoring of her kin in this book.
“What Leora Never Knew” is an essential understanding of a bygone era, told through the timeless lens of family, faith and importance. Through an image-laden journey of photographs and documents, Kidney candidly shares the revelations she discovered, giving a more complete understanding of what happened to Leora’s lost sons. Learning what the Wilson Family experienced puts names and faces on the reality of service to God and country through a gold standard for patriotism.