Before Dorothy, by Hazel Gaynor

 Publication June 17, 2025

The Kansan prairie might as well be a character in this one. Beautiful as it sounds in the brochures Emily has clung to for years, it also can be devastatingly destructive. The sense of the Dust Bowl hovers over the entire story, destroying dreams but, yes, bringing us home, too. I'm surely not the only child who once innocently watched the Oz movie and never once pondered why Dorothy lived with her aunt and uncle. Ah, the innocence of youth. Life can be harsh. In any case, I spent a good deal of time wishing I could somehow reach through the pages and give Emily Gale, the Auntie Em of the beloved tale, a hug. 

The author's skill put me there. I felt the wonder of the beauty of the prairie as envisioned by the hopeful young Emily while, yes, recalled the history of what happened to the overworked, over plowed soil and area. The Dust Bowl and hovering sense of doom that the talk of tornadoes creates seemed real, maybe because we've seen all too often of late how the power of nature can destroy. Even worse, how disaster can suck the life out of a person, hence my sense of foreboding for the Emily that we come to know so well as we read. I'm so glad the author caught that brief mention in the original work about Auntie Em being bright-eyed and beautiful once and how that changed. This is Auntie Em's story. You'll get to know Emily and husband Henry Gale well, their neighbors, too, and, I'm willing to bet, come to like and care for them. Dorothy, of course, and Toto, are part of the story but the focus is Auntie Em. Heck, I bet you may even have some sympathy for the "witch" of the story by the end of the book.

Needless to say, I savored this book. I must admit that I dragged it out, only allowing myself to read small sections at a time in order to make it last. I didn't want to leave this magical but deadly place.  I admired their determination to make a home there despite frightening and seemingly never-ending set-backs. The characters, and I wound up liking them all, warts and all, seemed real, like something out of a photograph of the Dust Bowl era. I could spend time listing the various "Easter Eggs", ie references to the movie or book, but will leave that delight for the readers to encounter on their own. Needless to say, we learn the backstories of many, including the now iconic trio of the Lion, Tin-Man, and Scare Crow, not to mention a hint of what may have shaped the "Wicked Witch of the West". In addition, make sure you read the historical notes at the end where you'll learn some history and the logic of some of the parts of this tale. Like, oh, where the gingham dress material often came from that we so associate with the movie Dorothy. My sincere thanks to #BerkleyPublishingGroup for reminding me that "There's no place like home" for that is where love and community exist.