Mr. Drinkwater's Garden takes the reader on a trip back in time through the mind of a young sailor going home for a funeral. It's a trip filled with both good and bad memories of growing up in a Working Class community during the 1950's. The setting is a small New England town, replete with its paper and woolen mills, corner drug store, best friends and bullies. Imbedded in the story is the mystery of a secret illness which has changed the life of the main character, his family and friends. Marty Belhaus knows there is something wrong in his neighborhood. He has a prime suspect based on what his ten year old mind understands and trusts. Layered into his daily life is the treatment he receives at the hands of an alcoholic step father, fear of the dark and surviving the physical threats of the local bully. Added to this mix are the vagaries and comedies of small town America. It makes you smile, it makes you cry and it makes you remember. It touches the hearts and minds of those who grew up in that era and who understand the mystery.