Elsie and Patsy is a based-on-a-true-story novel about two immigrant sweethearts. Oscar "Patsy" Lofgren arrived in Boston from Sweden with his parents and siblings in 1901. Around that time, Elizabeth "Elsie" Geist, the daughter of German immigrants, was growing up in the tenements of the Dorchester section of Boston. Their respective families landed in America possessing only what they could stuff into suitcases.
Their story is rooted in family. Patsy was a man's man-a strong, independent, unemotional, principled, back-slapping, beer-drinking, flag-waving man. Yet somehow in the presence of his beloved Elsie, his full-of-life petite Bavarian, Patsy became almost childlike in his attachment to her. Elsie and Patsy's boys were their joy in good times and their comfort following tragedy. To them, nothing much mattered outside the context of family.
Together, they faced and ultimately weathered assimilation into a new diverse culture, the tragic death of a child, an economic depression, poverty, unemployment, and the ill effects of two world wars. Yet their love never wavered-on the contrary, it flourished through adversity!
Patsy absolutely adored Elsie. "The gloves were off" when someone even implied something disparaging about his beloved. Elsie loved her Patsy, looking past his occasional stubborn moodiness to see a kindhearted, contemplative soul. They never stopped kidding each other. They never quit on each other.
Elsie's Bavarian roots made loving God easy. Patsy, on the other hand, struggled throughout his life even with the concept of God. It was his deep devotion to Elsie, however, that finally led Patsy home to the Lord.
Elsie and Patsy is timeless with its impactful messages on God, country, love, and family. With all the angst these days surrounding the public discourse on immigration and border security, it's a must read!
