'In the Beginning' is the second in a series of stories about the fictional Sullivan family. This irrepressible family begins with an indentured servant coming to the New World before the United States became a nation. 'In the Beginning' chronicles the struggles of an Irish immigrant arriving in Charles Town, South Carolina around 1737. It follows his settling in the wilderness of the Central Savannah River Area between South Carolina and Georgia. In vivid detail it describes the family's involvement in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the war for racial equality that continues today. Set in the sand hills of western South Carolina, it documents the extraordinary history of the region, and brings to light the important part this 'backcountry' area played in helping the American colonies gain independence from Great Britain. Much like the story of the United States, this story offers a plethora of hardships and mistakes endured by this family as they sought life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
About the Author: ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bruce Weeks was born in 1954, the year of the Supreme Court Decision, Brown vs Board of Education and reared in the sand hills region of western South Carolina. Growing up on his father's cotton farm in the community of Kitchings Mill in eastern Aiken County, he entered the cotton fields at an early age and worked alongside the African Americans that toiled in his father's fields. Attending Salley Elementary School then Wagener-Salley High School, he left the area in 1972 to attend Clemson University. In 1976 He began working in research for Clemson University. In 1993 he went back to college at age 40 and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education. After 5 years in the elementary classroom, he became certified as 'Highly Qualified' in secondary History and taught in high school and middle school until his retirement in 2012. An avid fan of the Appalachian Trail, he has section hiked the trail from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Damascus, Virginia. He is now working on a hiker rest area near the trail and his cabin in the mountains of Virginia. A resident of Townville, SC, he and his wife, Jan, also a retired school teacher, have lived there for over 40 years. They have two children, four grandchildren and two Boykin Spaniels that they spoil as much as possible. When not writing, Mr. Weeks works on an extended list of honey-dos.