Sunshine and Shadow

A successful country singer/songwriter, Jan Howard was born in desperate poverty in Birch Tree, Missouri, she was one of 11 children; she often went hungry and skipped school because she had no clothes to wear. At eight she was raped by a 'friendly' neighbour, an incident that affected her relationships with men into adulthood. At 15 she married a man she didn't love just to get out of the house. She bore three sons in four years and suffered a nervous breakdown after he stole money (sent by her sister to pay the rent) and lost it playing poker. When she expressed concern he tried to kill her. Borrowing 10 dollars she fled with her sons. Her second marriage to an Air Force sergeant ended when she learned he was already married to someone else. Jan, seven months pregnant at the time went into shock and lost the child. Her third marriage was to a struggling songwriter, Harlan Howard. A demo record she cut for him launched her career as a country singer. Harlan's extra-marital affairs ended this marriage. One of her sons was killed in Vietnam, the second, a Vietnam veteran, committed suicide. She is now a tireless worker to benefit Vietnam veterans.