gene guerin

Spanning the twentieth century, Cottonwood Saints chronicles the lives of a New Mexico woman and her son, Michael. Margarita Juana Galvan was born in a lumber camp in 1913 and is brought up like a little princess in her grandparents' hacienda. In contrast, Margarita's adult life is spent in depression-ridden Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Told through Michael, Margarita's story embodies the challenges faced by an intelligent, independent-minded girl maturing in a man's world. Margarita and her family's lives intersect with the prominent events of the century: the influenza pandemic of 1918, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, the Great Depression, and World War II.

Based on the life of Guerin's mother, Cottonwood Saints connects the lives of the poorest citizens of New Mexico to the local power structure. The story ends after Michael, who became a priest, must leave his order in disgrace, and with the burial of Margarita in 1991.

"Cottonwood Saints is a moving family saga, rich in lore and personality and the marvelous culture of New Mexico. Margarita Juana is a powerful woman, a survivor who perseveres against all odds, determined to hold things together. Her story, about the extreme courage of ordinary people, is sad and true and very inspiring."--John Nichols, author of The Milagro Beanfield War

"The lyrical voice will draw you in, but it's Margarita Juana's twentieth-century--spanning story that will keep you reading. Cottonwood Saints paints a northern New Mexico on the brink of change its characters both embrace and fear. Cottonwood Saints is quietly lovely, heartbreakingly real."--Lisa Lenard-Cook, author of Dissonance and Coyote Morning

"With poetic descriptions of countryside and towns struggling to be modern, we are taken through the late nineteenth century in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in its growing pains as a railroad town, the hardships of World War II both for those who participated in the Baatan march and those who stayed behind, to the contemporary period. Guerin has exactly captured a period from rural life to contemporary life, with all its disappointments and challenges."--Tey Diana Rebolledo, department of Spanish, University of New Mexico