Born to Serve

In 1900 a bi-racial baby girl is left on the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral by her mother who is dying of a blood disease. Naomi, the baby grows up to become a doctor and a Nun. She has problems with the restrictions in the convent, however, and leaves it to go find her father who fled West when he found out her mother was pregnant.
In Washington Court House, Ohio, George Jackson, son of black farmers, is orphaned at age ten when a fire kills his family. He suffers another loss, joins the army, and goes to Europe during WW1 where he serves as a medic. He eventually returns to Washington Court House.
Eventually Naomi arrives on a train at the depot where George is shining shoes. This novel is a saga moving through history as Naomi struggles to maintain her vows of poverty, chastity, and service, outside the convent, as well as to find her run away father. It will take you through the Spanish Flu Pandemic, World War 1, and the Great Depression.