Category: New Roads

CHSPC valedictorian’s pacifist father challenged David Duke at LSU with bloody knife

Baton Rouge, LA — March 16, 2023 — “John Hart is your father” is seared in Edie White’s brain when AncestryDNA sucker-punches her at work in early 2018. Author Jeremy White’s wife, who was raised in Maringouin by a loving adopted family, had altruistically submitted a sample in hopes of healing an unknown woman’s nearly fifty-year-old wound. The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture: A Journey of Selfless Discovery immersively reveals how the resulting bombshell propels the college sweethearts into this beautifully epic, transformational adventure that resolves a trio of daunting mysteries, including one plaguing an enthusiastic horde of gangster-adjacent Ukrainian Americans for two-thirds of a century.

“Edie’s selfless agenda is the heart of this powerful story of healing, and sets it apart from other works about similar searches,” Jeremy White notes. “Our reluctant hero successfully dodges all the traps that could have turned this unicorn of a real-life family saga into a darker version of the insane yet heartwarming tale that it is.”

Literally overnight, the baby of Edie’s adopted family becomes the eldest sibling in a new, amazing family, fathered by a pacifist cited in two books for challenging David Duke at LSU with a bloody knife. Jeremy and Edie travel on COVID’s eve to Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and California wine country to meet her far-flung new folks, some of whom see her as a wonderful expansion of their incredibly loving families. Others see her as a bona fide miracle. And at least one person considers Edie the answer to a long-secret prayer that she didn’t expect to receive until the afterlife. With a smattering of bittersweet moments, The Little Girl is heavy on happy reunions, including a mind-blowing, poetic parental reunion of sorts, one involving a Baton Rouge bookstore, no less. Transcending issues of genealogy, The Little Girl appeals to readers seeking empathy in a divided land, and authentic beauty in an increasingly ugly world.

“The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture is a compelling narrative of family and love,” according to New York Times best-selling author Susan D. Mustafa. “This heartwarming rendering shows that a balance can be achieved between adopted and biological families, and that we truly have enough love within us to embrace the old and the new with equal fervor. Edie’s story is about understanding, forgiveness and compassion, spiced with humor and adventure. A must read for anyone who enjoys a true-to-life love story.”

Jeremy White is a tenured cynic who penned this hopeful book. He founded South Louisiana’s premier satirical publication in 2004, eight years before relaunching the award-winning Red Shtick Magazine as its all-digital progeny, The Red Shtick. The passionate Cajun can often be heard on various popular radio shows as either a guest or a guest host. A longtime football official and Mardi Gras krewe captain, Jeremy earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at LSU, where he met his wife, Edie. They’ve been happily married since 1992 and live in Baton Rouge with their cat, Waffles.

White Lines Press (an imprint of Red Stick Comedy, LLC) is publishing the 468-page hardcover edition of The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture on July 1, but readers can pre-order signed copies at LittleGirlBook.com, where 1 in 20 customers will win a signed “lagniappe” copy. Signed hardcover editions are also available through partnered indie bookstores around the country, including Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs and Red Stick Reads in Baton Rouge. For more information and resources, please visit our media center. Inquiries should be sent to [email protected].

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