Sugar Land

Sugar Land
by Tammy Lynne Stoner

It is 1923 Texas, and Dara realizes she has fallen in love with her best friend.  The problem is that her best friend is a woman, and this is 1923, and it's Texas.  Being publicly lesbian will lead to a very difficult life.  They are treated as criminals and looked down upon.  She doesn't want a life like that.

So she takes a job at a prison for men, working in the kitchen.  Since she likes women, Dara feels like this would be a safe place for her to basically hide out.  She is terrified of being found out.  Interestingly, her friend keeps writing her letters, and how she would go public with Dara and they could be happy.  Dara eventually has the letters sent back.

When Dara has been at the prison for ten years, the Warden suddenly proposes.  She didn't see it coming, but she goes on to have a decent life with him.  He is a good man and treats her well.  Dara now has two stepdaughters.  

It was interesting how she always seemed to treat the one stepdaughter better than the other, maybe because she felt like she could understand the one stepdaughter better and relate to her more.  I felt bad for the one daughter, Debbie, Dara always seems to be short with her.

I liked this novel, it was something a little different.  Reading how terrified Dara was when she realized she was a lesbian, and she honestly feared for her life.  It's different from these days.  How different would her life have been if she had been public with her friend, but she might not have lived long it was so dangerous.