My Children, My Life

 

My Children, My Life is an extensive multi-generational family story told through the perspectives of multiple family members. The story is based on true events. It tells the Runquists' story, a rich story about a family overcoming hardships and striving to make their dreams come true, a story about teaching children responsibility and allowing them to be responsible. It's a story about starting a small business, a Wisconsin dairy farm, with little to their name and raising their twelve children on that farm. The story reveals how the farm molded the family, while providing the opportunity and freedom to achieve the potential within themselves, to maximize their development, to inspire creativity and to allow the exercise of self-expression. My Children, My Life reveals the Runquist family’s thoughts, allows one to feel their happiness, anger, and passion; and to experience their achievements and failures. The story is an exposé on the human spirit. It’s a love story, an immigrant’s story, an entrepreneurial story, a coming of age story, a story of abuse that crosses multiple generations, and the impact caused by not being able to prevent or terminate pregnancies.

 

Authors A.I.'s Marlowe Analysis

Overview - My Children, My Life is an extensive multi-generational family memoir told through the perspectives of multiple family members. The Memoir's raw honesty about family struggles, child labor, and survival during economic hardship gives it substantial emotional weight and historical value.

Premise / Elevator Pitch - A young woman traumatized by childhood tragedy marries a farmer and raises twelve children on a Wisconsin dairy farm, struggling against poverty, harsh discipline, and the demanding realities of agricultural life while her children learn resilience through hardship.

Potential Readers - My Children, My Life's authentic voice and unflinching examination of family life under extreme pressure create compelling reading that will resonate with audiences seeking genuine stories of American resilience.The story will appeal to readers interested in American agricultural history, family dynamics, and Depression-era rural life. My Children, My Life's raw honesty about family struggles, child labor, and survival during economic hardship gives it substantial emotional weight and historical value.

Archetype - My Children, My Life is most similar to The Quest story archetype.

Genere & Story Type - My Children, My Life is primarily a family memoir with strong elements of historical nonfiction and agricultural literature. The story also contains elements of the following:

Word Count - My Children, My Life contains about 116,244 words. While there are no hard-and-fast rules about minimum and maximum story lengths, there are industry traditions and reader expectations. Here’s a quick reference for typical word counts by genre:

For genre-bending works, the word count should typically align with the genre that has the higher range (e.g., romantic fantasy would follow fantasy’s 80,000-120,000 words). In some cases, indie authors choose to serialize a story — say, three fantasy novels of 40,000 words instead of one novel of 120,000 words.

Trigger Warnings - My Children, My Life contains extensive descriptions of child physical abuse including beatings with various implements, forced labor of minor children in dangerous conditions, detailed accounts of farm accidents resulting in serious injuries, descriptions of animal deaths and slaughter, references to childhood sexual threats, domestic violence between spouses, emotional abuse and neglect of children, detailed descriptions of extreme poverty and food insecurity, and accounts of children being forced to work instead of attending school. The memoir also contains descriptions of difficult childbirth experiences, infant and child deaths, house fires and other traumatic accidents, and harsh living conditions that some readers may find disturbing.

 

ManuscriptReport.com Analysis

Synopsis - My Children, My Life is a multi-generational family memoir chronicling the life of Agnes De Foor Runquist, born into poverty and hardship in rural Wisconsin in 1926. The narrative opens with Agnes's birth in the family's log house, the youngest of four children, and immediately establishes the harsh realities of early 20th-century farm life. Her father, Le Roy, is a gentle Dutchman, while her mother, Anna, is emotionally distant and often cruel, shaped by her own abusive upbringing. Agnes's early years are marked by deprivation, relentless chores, and the emotional distance of her mother, but the defining trauma comes when Agnes is three years old.

On Saint Nicholas Night, 1929, Agnes and her sisters Julia and Ruthena are left alone in the house while their parents and brother work in the barn. A playful moment with Christmas catalogs turns tragic when Agnes suggests burning some of the paper in the wood stove. A draft ignites the pile on the floor, and the fire quickly spreads. Ruthena is overcome by smoke, and Julia, trying to save her, is fatally burned. Agnes runs for help, but both sisters die—Ruthena at home and Julia later in the hospital. Julia's dying words, "Agnes did it," cement Agnes's lifelong role as scapegoat. Her mother's grief turns to blame and abuse, and Agnes becomes the constant target of Anna's rage and sorrow.

The Great Depression exacerbates the family's poverty. Anna gives birth to two more children, but Agnes's life remains one of unending labor and punishment. She is forced to sleep on the floor or in the barn, and from a young age, she shoulders the bulk of household and farm chores. Her father, though kind, is physically and emotionally unable to protect her. Agnes's only solace is a secluded spot in the woods, where she seeks comfort and escape from her mother's wrath.

School offers little relief; Agnes is mocked for her poverty and homemade clothes. Humiliated and overworked, she quits high school, preferring the grueling demands of farm life to the social cruelty of her peers. At eighteen, after a violent confrontation with her mother, Agnes finally leaves home, walking to the nearby town of Ashley. She finds work as a hired girl for the Markel family, where she experiences kindness and stability for the first time. During this period, she meets Virgil Runquist, a local farmer. Their courtship is a turning point for Agnes, offering her the possibility of love and respect. Virgil's willingness to convert to Catholicism for Agnes demonstrates his commitment, and they marry in 1946, though the wedding day itself is marred by exhaustion and her mother's continued abuse.

Married life brings little respite from hardship. Agnes and Virgil live with his parents on the family farm, and Agnes is quickly swept into the relentless cycle of pregnancy, childbirth, and farm labor. The couple has twelve children between 1947 and 1963: Charlene, Hank, Jennifer, Eric, Drew, Betty, Rachel, twins Karena and Karin, Claire, and Brenda. The family is beset by medical crises, including Agnes's dangerous Rh-negative blood type, which threatens the lives of her later children. The twins survive only after complete blood transfusions; Claire and Brenda are born via C-section, with Agnes nearly dying from complications. Financial strain is constant, and the family relies on government commodities to survive.

As the children grow, the narrative shifts to their collective perspective. They describe a childhood defined by ceaseless work, strict discipline, and frequent physical abuse, particularly from their mother. The kitchen is both the literal and figurative center of their world—site of meals, homework, and the infamous "circle beatings," where Agnes would punish the children in turn until a confession was made. Despite the severity of their upbringing, the siblings develop a fierce loyalty to one another, finding moments of joy and solidarity amid the hardship.

The father, Virgil, is depicted as gentle but emotionally distant, unable to intervene in Agnes's harsh discipline. The children's recollections reveal the long-term effects of their upbringing: deep emotional scars, a powerful work ethic, and a complex mixture of resentment and love for their parents. The family's survival is portrayed as both a triumph and a tragedy, shaped by the relentless demands of farm life and the unresolved trauma of Agnes's childhood.

The memoir concludes with analysis from Joshua, the seventh child, who reflects on the economic and emotional forces that led to the sale of the family farm in 1976, shortly after he left for the Marine Corps. He argues that Agnes's newfound independence through nursing work and the departure of her children—her primary labor force—prompted the decision to leave farming behind. The sale marks the end of an era for the family, closing a chapter of hardship, endurance, and complicated love.

Genere - My Children, My Life's primary genres are Memoir at 60%, Historical Family Saga at 25% and Rural Social History at 15%.The story also contains elements of the following:

Biography & Memoirs:

Family & Relatoinships:

Hisory:

Potential Readers - Readers drawn to true stories of endurance, family, and the complicated legacy of love, My Children, My Life is an unforgettable journey into the heart of what it means to survive—and to belong. More specifically, readers drawn to:

Themes - My Children, My Life adresses:

Tropes - My Children, My Life contains the following tropes:

Comparative Titles (comps) - My Children, My Life comparative titles include the following:

Book Title Similarities Differences
More Than a Farmer's Wife: Voices of American Farm Women, 1910-1960 by Sarah Vogel Both books center on the lives of rural women in the Midwest, highlighting the hardships, resilience, and family dynamics of farm life across the twentieth century. More Than a Farmer's Wife is a collection of oral histories from multiple women, while My Children, My Life is a single-family memoir with a strong narrative arc and focus on generational trauma.
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains by Kerri Arsenault Both books are memoirs rooted in a specific rural community, exploring family history, hardship, and the impact of environment and economics on generations. Mill Town focuses on environmental and industrial decline in Maine, while My Children, My Life centers on farm life, familial abuse, and survival in Wisconsin.
Benjamin Banneker and Us: Eleven Generations of an American Family by Rachel Jamison Webster Both books trace the legacy of trauma, resilience, and survival across generations, with a focus on family stories and the impact of ancestry. Benjamin Banneker and Us explores racial identity and American history, while My Children, My Life is a white Midwestern family's account of poverty, abuse, and endurance.
The Names of All the Flowers by Melissa Valentine Both are memoirs that grapple with family tragedy, loss, and the long-term effects of trauma on siblings. The Names of All the Flowers is set in urban Oakland and deals with racial violence, while My Children, My Life is set in rural Wisconsin and focuses on farm life and maternal abuse.
Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford Both memoirs explore the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, childhood trauma, and the search for self-worth. Somebody's Daughter is set in Indiana and centers on the author's relationship with her incarcerated father and emotionally distant mother, while My Children, My Life focuses on generational abuse and survival in a large farm family.
Remedies for Sorrow: An Extraordinary Child, a Secret Kept from Pregnant Women, and a Mother's Pursuit of the Truth by Megan Nix Both books deal with motherhood under extreme adversity, medical crises involving children, and the emotional toll of caregiving. Remedies for Sorrow is a contemporary account of a mother's fight for her child's health, while My Children, My Life is a historical memoir spanning decades of family hardship.
You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith Both memoirs reflect on family, loss, and the struggle to find beauty and meaning amid pain and adversity. You Could Make This Place Beautiful is a poetic meditation on divorce and rebuilding, while My Children, My Life is a multi-generational family saga of survival and abuse.
After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America by Jessica Goudeau Both books chronicle families facing adversity, displacement, and the struggle to build a better life for their children. After the Last Border follows refugee families in modern America, while My Children, My Life is a historical memoir of a native-born American family's struggles.
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo Both books are deeply personal accounts of surviving childhood trauma and abuse, and the long-term psychological effects. What My Bones Know is a contemporary memoir with a focus on mental health and healing, while My Children, My Life is a historical family memoir with a broader focus on generational hardship.
Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls Both books are sweeping family sagas set in rural America, featuring strong female protagonists who endure hardship and family conflict. Hang the Moon is a work of fiction set in Prohibition-era Virginia, while My Children, My Life is a work of fiction set in twentieth-century Wisconsin.

Comparisons - Narrative Crossroads -  My Children, My Life has a blend of intricate espionage, family drama, and technological revolution. Consider

Angela's Ashes meets The Glass Castle - Where the relentless poverty and maternal cruelty of Angela's Ashes meets the raw, unvarnished family memoir of The Glass Castle, you'll discover My Children, My Life, a book that immerses readers in the unforgiving rhythms of rural Wisconsin farm life. Like Frank McCourt's Limerick, Agnes's world is shaped by deprivation, loss, and a mother's bitterness, while the shifting narrative—moving from Agnes's battered childhood to her children's collective voice—echoes Jeannette Walls's unflinching honesty and the complicated, enduring bonds of siblings who survive together. What sets this story apart is its multi-generational lens, capturing not just a single survivor's journey, but the ripple effects of trauma and resilience across an entire family.

Places in the Heart meets Educated - At the intersection of the hardscrabble, Depression-era farm survival in Places in the Heart and the searing, firsthand account of familial abuse and self-reliance in Educated, My Children, My Life emerges as a vivid portrait of endurance and transformation. Like Sally Field's character, Agnes shoulders the backbreaking burden of keeping a family afloat against impossible odds, while the narrative's later shift—allowing the children to recount their own scars and triumphs—recalls Tara Westover's piercing exploration of how children internalize, resist, and ultimately transcend the violence and neglect of their upbringing. The result is a story that refuses sentimentality, instead offering a clear-eyed look at the costs and quiet heroism of survival.

Bastard Out of Carolina meets Tree of Life - Where the bruising, intimate realism of Bastard Out of Carolina converges with the impressionistic, memory-soaked family epic of Tree of Life, readers will find My Children, My Life perfectly positioned as a chronicle of generational pain and fleeting grace. Like Dorothy Allison's Bone, Agnes is marked by her mother's rage and the stigma of tragedy, while the book's later chapters—told through the collective, sometimes fractured voices of her children—evoke Terrence Malick's kaleidoscopic meditation on childhood, loss, and the shaping force of parents. This is a story that lingers in the details: the sting of a leather strap, the solace of a hidden woodland, the unspoken alliances between siblings, and the bittersweet reckoning that comes when the farm—and the childhood it contained—finally slips away.