If Clementine Camille: Volume One: An American Romance is the story of sincere and joyful affection that overcomes the artificial barrier of skin color and ethnic heritage as an impediment to love, and if Clementine Camille: Volume Two: An American Memoir is a portrayal of maturity and achievement in the complex social and psychological context of both racial sensitivity and insensitivity, then Clementine Camille: Volume Three: An American Life--the final novel in the Clementine Camille trilogy--takes on the most challenging theme of all: the agonizing loss and the bitter grief that follows when Clementine Brown and Tyler Raymond's on-going romance is shattered by sudden tragedy. Thus, while the issues that attend racial awareness are ever-present in both the foreground and the background as the novel unfolds in a juxtaposing of reality and memory and dream, in the final analysis, An American Life portrays the struggle not just to survive but to survive with worth and dignity that challenges everything Clementine and Tyler had managed to create over their lifetime together.
At the same time, that there is a story to tell after the tragedy is both a testament to the love Clementine and Tyler conjured and shared and a tribute to every member of the family who stands fast when, for a while, it appeared that, indeed, the sky might well be falling down all around them.
About the Author: Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1938, Ronald was educated in the public schools before attending the Chicago Art Institute. After service in the army, he completed his B.F.A. Degree in art and English at Drake University in 1963. He then began what became a forty-year teaching career at five college preparatory independent schools in California, Missouri, and Florida, taking time to earn his M.A. Degree in English from the University of Wyoming, where he studied with scholar Keith Hull and poet and novelist Robert Roripaugh. In 1989, he studied at Yad Vashem Institute, Jerusalem, Israel; more recently, he has studied at the University of Wales, Swansea.
The father of five adult children, three of whom have been or are today English teachers, Ronald lives with his wife, Joyce Davidsen, a history teacher, in Orlando, Florida. While Ronald retired from full time teaching in 2002 and part time teaching in 2005, he continues to be active as a second grade Read2Succeed mentor at Lake George Elementary School, in Orlando.
