Set Apart

While her mother lies ill in her bedroom at the Central Hotel, Emily begins packing for their upcoming move to Washington, D.C. The hatbox she discovers is filled with photographs and newspaper clippings that raise questions in her mind about her family and the unique band of women with whom she's been raised.

What was being taught in her grandmother's prayer meetings that would convince the ladies to leave their husbands?

How did these women of privilege manage to support themselves and their young children?

At what point did the women abandon their foundation of faith to pursue more worldly goals?

Why, after scandalous public trials for divorce, insanity and charges of heresy, would the town decide to turn around and support the business of the Central Hotel?

Using personal correspondence between the women, diaries and journals, newspaper and magazine accounts, court records, photographs and other sources, Ms. Lufburrow has woven an engaging tale to tell the true story of the Sanctified Sisters of Belton. The scandal that rocked the tiny Central Texas town in the late 1800s is an intriguing story and an insightful account of how the choices we make can impact the world in which we live.