THOUGH WATERS ROAR BY LYNN AUSTIN

In THOUGH WATERS ROAR by LYNN AUSTIN we see four generations of women coming to terms with life.  We go backwards from Harriet who is the daughter of wealthy parents, but who relates better with her Grandma Bebe than with her mother, Lucy, and her sister Alice, who are very feminine and very much part of the upper class social scene.  Harriet feels ugly but doesn't care, and makes up her mind to do something important with her life like her Grandma Bebe and her great Grandma Hannah, and to never get married.
The story starts with Harriet in jail, but her reasons for being in jail are not honourable like her Grandma Bebe's were, when she was put in jail for her demonstrations against alcohol.  She was trying to help a friend who was about to get into trouble for getting involved with bootleggers!  She is so ashamed, but when Bebe hears about it she says that she, Bebe, has been too legalistic and has been trying to change people instead of showing compassion like Jesus did when He was on earth.  Only Jesus can change people.
Grandma Bebe gets involved with her anti alcohol campaigns because of her husband, Horatio's alcohol problem, which affects her whole life and leads to her having to run her husband's business when his father dies and letting her mother-in-law, who has never approved of her, bring up her daughter Lucy.  Lucy is very spoilt by her grandmother and adores her father.  Bebe also becomes involved with helping people in the slums.  She has been inspired by her mother, Hannah,  who helped slaves escape.  Hannah was delighted to have a daughter after four sons and she and Bebe were very close.
Bebe is a real tomboy, and in fact her father always treated her like a boy and she wore her brothers overalls and boots on the farm when they went away to war and she had to help her father in their place.  She meets Horatio when she visits her wounded brother Franklin in hospital, and is amazed that he finds her beautiful!
There are many secrets that come to light throughout the book - Horatio's secret and his father's secret.  Horatio redeems himself by saving people living in the slums when the waters flood into the lower parts of the town.
The book is full of references to the roaring of the waters - from the beginning when Bebe swung over the river on her brother's swing - to the flood, to the roaring of the crowds when Lucy goes on a march for women's rights.  Lucy also has a secret which leads her to want to help people less fortunate than herself.  She especially wants to help boys who have grown up in the slums to have a better life.
It is good to see how the mothers manage to impart Godly wisdom and values to their daughters, in spite of the fact that they are unable to have much to do with their upbringing because of the circumstances they find themselves in.
The characters are very real, and their struggles are well portrayed.  We see in each daughter the heritage passed down through the generations, and their strength in coping with difficult situations.  We see the Lord at work in each of them, and how the choices they make affect them and those that they love.