The Elephant Lady | Gundy

The Elephant Lady

by Bud Gundy

New Fiction - Coming Soon

In 1958, 18 year-old Jeffrey Ertle was arrested at a gay bar in Akron, Ohio and cast out from his home, becoming a whispered family legend.  Nearly 60 years later, his great niece Vesna learns that he existed, and discovers that he is still alive.

Life has taken strange paths over five decades.  Jeffrey’s younger sister Janet struggles with her family and their demons, close relatives have died and life’s disappointments have taken their toll.  She has powered through it all with the dim memory of her vanished brother haunting her most significant milestones.  When her granddaughter announces that she’s found Jeffrey, the news slams into the lives of three generations, sending out ripples that travel in startling directions.

Jeffrey’s story echoes from a time long before gay marriage and rainbow flags. It precedes lambda signs, the Stonewall riots and even color television.  His mere existence propels his surviving family members into places they never imagined.

But Jeffrey was not the only family secret, and he alone has the power to cure a wound still festering after more than half a century.