Mingled Souls

Mingled Souls tells the extraordinary story of a love that
bridged cultural and religious divides. Anchored in
the letters that Dorothy Thigpen and Edmund Shea
exchanged between 1916 and 1920, the narrative recounts how
they survived the perils and separation imposed by World War I,
and how they negotiated the powerful parental disapproval their
match provoked. Dorothy grew up in the Deep South, raised in a
Protestant family with a distinguished heritage, and Edmund was
a young Harvard-educated lawyer from Irish immigrant roots who
grew up in northern Wisconsin. The book is a testament to their
faith that their love could transcend sectarian division. It records
the mystery of two human beings coming to know one another
over great distance and at a moment in history when the world
changed forever.
Some of the letters were bequeathed to author Sheila Harvey Tanzer by
her father, but the others were scattered. They surfaced over many
years, some unearthed from basements, others gathered from farflung
relatives. Tanzer pieces together the letters, recreating the rich
texture of conversation that ultimately kindled a lasting love. Beautifully
contextualized, the narrative is propelled by Dorothy and Edmund's
increasing insight as they confront the differences in their backgrounds
and forge a new language of shared understanding.