From Pigtails and Pinafores: My Mother's Life Growing Up in the Florida Gulf

From Pigtails and Pinafores is Liz Hawkins' first published work. This is a project she and her mother Elsie Smith began in 1997, but allowed to fall by the wayside for eight years. However, they rededicated themselves to completing the book in 2005. The inspiration for the book title simply comes from the way her mother described how she and her sisters often wore their hair in two braids, which they referred to as pigtails, and wore dresses with sleeveless apron-like garments over them called pinafores. This book is a delightful mix of humor, history and heart about a young girl growing up in the Florida gulf during 1930's Depression era and 1940's war era. It's also about family, love, caring and sharing. You will laugh, cry, and cry while laughing as Elsie shares her experiences about living with a number of relatives for the first ten years of her life, then living with her strict and domineering father until age 18.