Book excerpt: In the early 1900s, Al Johnson is 29 years old when he meets the woman of his dreams--nineteen-year-old Evie Ashton. After a whirlwhind courtship, they marry, but Evie is used to a certain lifestyle that Al labors to provide. Through struggles and hardships, against the backdrop of the Great War and the Spanish flu, Al and Evie fight for survival--both for their family, and for the life they've built together.Based on a true story, Coal, War & Love explores what it meant to be poor and "colored" in the early 20th century. For many, it was a time of imagination and great hope, a wonderful time to be alive--but for others, it was rife with struggle that only the strongest might overcome.