Betty Rea

Betty Rea is a story of personal triumph and personal failure representing American women in the 1930's and 40's within a culture struggling to redefine itself in the midst of a paralyzing depression and another world war. After her husband's tragic suicide, keeping her children from the clutches of their politically powerful grandfather becomes Betty Rea's life's defing event. In a time when assistance meant who was able and willing to step to the plate, she takes pot luck and creates an opportunity smorgasbord. She hides her children and sells her belongings. She works, finagles and piecemeans a life until opportunity arrives. She and her sister-in-law, Julia, open the first drive-in restaurant in Northern Kentucky.
The women in Betty Rea give rise to future decated of dedicated, determined women who still struggle to balance their own needs with the demands of family and culture.