Velma's Story

A blizzard rages outside a ramshackle Iowa farmhouse in February of 1921. Five-year-old Velma and her older sister stand near a glowing Isinglass stove charged with minding their two younger brothers. Velma senses that her father is dying in the nearby living room, and she wonders if her mother can possibly survive the raging snowstorm in her brave effort to get help.

Based on the life of author G. L. Gooding's mother, Velma Steele, The Road to Resilience continues the saga first introduced in Where Courage Began. There, the audience met five-year-old Velma, her young siblings, and her suddenly widowed mother Alice. Now, it's Christmas Day 1924, and young Velma is still breathless from the dramatic events of the previous night. She remembers with joy participating along with many of her community in rallying around an isolated family in a moment of great need.

As World War II looms ahead, Velma and Jack Gooding's joy of welcoming a healthy son into the world is soon overshadowed when Jack falls gravely ill with Tubercular Pneumonia. To aid his recovery, the family moves to a small farm, where Jack slowly recovers and eventually takes on part-time work. The attack on Pearl Harbor, a turning point for all Americans, propels the Goodings to California. There Jack builds B-17s, while Velma manages their home life with now two young sons.