Family stories weave a web of magic, mystery, and multiple unknowns. The Haley family, dating back to the mid-1800s, had an interesting saga beginning with Michael Haley who immigrated to the United States to make a better life for himself. Burdened with a baby after his wife died in childbirth, Michael has difficulty finding a job, so he abandons his infant, leaving her in a safe place where he hopes she will be cared for. This leads him back to find work on the plantation where his infant has been adopted and here he finds love again. But, the social-economic divide between himself, a laborer, and the daughter of the landowner means they must run away to make a life together. Burdened with threats of starvation, the Civil War, and disease, the couple carves out a life together that is full of both joys and sorrows. It’s a beginning of a family saga that will continue well into the twentieth century.

William A. Thomas Jr.’s novel, Runaway Haley: An Imagined Family Saga, is part memoir, part fiction. Taking the facts that he unveiled in his genealogical research, the author wove a probable tale of a family struggling to make a life in the years leading up to, during, and following the American Civil War. The plot is thickened with family correspondence, historical documents, and historical maps, as well as family photos. The author is a clever storyteller, who presents powerful prose, descriptive narrative, compelling dialogue, and a love story that binds it all together. Beautifully told; a story that will have the reader spellbound right to the very end.

Runaway Haley by William A. Thomas Jr. begins in 1958 with Ruby Haley receiving a letter that detailed information from her past. Michael Haley was an Irish immigrant who came to America looking for a better life. We have the privilege of following his progress from his arrival in America until his death many years later. We are taken back to 1847 and here the story begins. It takes place in DeSoto County, Mississippi, and many of the chapters begin with old maps of the area. Michael finds a family willing to take him in and he soon marries and his life story begins. He has children, fights in the Civil War, deals with the hardship of yellow fever and so much more good and bad over the years. When he dies, the story continues with his children, but the siblings soon become separated. They too endure hard times, dealing with life in the streets, an orphanage, cruelty, abuse, and hunger but with the hope of finding love and a better life.

Runaway Haley is a story that mixes fact and fiction and is based on a real-life family, real-time events, and the added imagination of the author telling the everyday life story of Michael Haley and his descendants. I was drawn into the story of Runaway Haley from the first page and easily felt their pains, their joys, and their sorrows. William A. Thomas, Jr. used the facts that his wife provided after researching her family and created a very believable and compelling existence for each one of them. As I read, each one became my friend and I rooted for them to find happiness. If you are a Civil War buff, enjoy family sagas, or just enjoy a good book, then Runaway Haley is a must-read for you.