Separate and Parallel: The Tale of Two Sisters

Beverly Park Williams traces back three generations of strong, smart women, revealing a surprising mystery hiding in her family tree.

It was the roaring twenties in Cincinnati, Ohio, and women were quickly opening new doors for themselves and seizing every opportunity for advancement. Here, in a city that was changing on a daily basis, Clarissa Doppler fell in love with Sam Disser. Clarissa never had a real childhood. She was forced into a life of servitude instead. To her, Sam represented an opportunity for a real home. Little did she know that Sam’s conniving parents had no plans to make her a part of their household. They kidnapped her oldest daughter and abandoned her with her new baby.

Shirley Disser, the baby, never knew her father. Janet Disser, her older sister, never knew her mother. Neither girl knew about the other, and the two went seven decades without meeting.

In this family history, Shirley’s daughter, Beverly, examines the women’s lives and finds surprising connections between the two. Learn about Shirley’s and Janet’s fulfilling lives and the amazing event that reunited them when all hope seemed lost.

Beverly Park Williams wrote her first book, Separate and Parallel, to preserve and honor the incredible true story of her mother and her aunt.