Riches to Rags

Riches to Rags is the story of a mentally ill street person-Dr. Merritt Hall-Davis, known on the street as "Molly." Merritt is born into a wealthy family, and for a while is a successful physician, as well as a happy wife and mother. But outbursts stemming from her mental illness disrupt what had been the perfect family life. Merritt's mental illness is characterized by voices that torment her mercilessly, asleep or awake, and drastic mood swings. Symptoms first appear when she is a young woman in college and reoccur intermittently throughout the remainder of her life. Although she receives treatment for her mental condition, she eventually runs away from her sorrows and finds herself on the streets of Valeria, a fictitious city in Indiana. There she finds friends among the other street people, ranging from "Old Johnny," who becomes her protector, to a fifteen-year-old runaway. Most of the story deals with Molly while she is in Valeria, but on two different occasions, she finds herself lost in totally unfamiliar surroundings, away from the city. Riches to Rags covers a wide array of human emotions. It is a love story and a tragedy; it is a tale of hope and hopelessness; and it is a story of great courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.