From Riches to Rags

Rebecca Morgan Elizabeth Talbot grew up more than privileged; she had everything except what she wanted most. Love eluded her. First from her parents, then from a guardian that only saw her wealth as a means to improve his life, Rebecca did the only thing she could think of. She ran.
There is nothing like being stripped from even the most basic of necessities to wake you up to the world around you. Rebecca wasn’t exactly stripped from the luxuries that surrounded her, she left them behind.
She went from having everything to having nothing in one split decision. With the help of a friend, she was able to acquire a mule, an old mule, a little money, and a ride on a coal barge across the Hudson River to the mainland. From there, she was on her own.
It wasn’t long before the reality of her situation fell upon her shoulders and she learned quickly that if she didn’t find her own food, she would go hungry. After several mishaps with people she too easily trusted, she stumbled across an old woman living in the Appalachian Mountains that gave her the education most girls had before they were twelve. It was with Granny that she met Bart who was her first love and her first real loss.