A young woman on the run. A life built in the shadows. A story that refuses to be forgotten. At fifteen, Frankie ran from an abusive home with nothing but her wits and a gambler’s promise of escape. What she found was a world of speakeasies, bootlegging, and survival on the edge of the law. Now, decades later, her story is ready to be told—one of grit, defiance, and a woman who refused to be broken.
A young woman on the run. A life built in the shadows. A story that refuses to be forgotten
Amarillo, Texas, 2000. Margaret Kenyon, the oldest practicing nurse in the Panhandle, has lived long enough to know the difference between rumor and truth. When a young reporter comes to interview her, Margaret has one condition: Before he writes a single word about her, he must hear the story of Frankie—a woman whose life of crime, survival, and quiet acts of courage changed everything. East Texas, 1925. At fifteen, Frankie has only ever known poverty, abuse, and silence. Then, on a sweltering Fourth of July, she seizes her one chance to escape her hometown of Uncertain—fleeing with Theophile “Dix” Bergeron, a charismatic gambler who opens the door to a dangerous new world of speakeasies, bootlegging, and backroom deals. But in a country where desperation blurs the line between sin and survival, Frankie will have to become more than a runaway. She will have to become fearless. From Prohibition-era Texas to a quiet hospital laundry room where Frankie finds unexpected hope, her story is one of grit, transformation, and the power of a woman determined to write her own fate—even if the world calls her an outlaw. Teddy Jones reveals the full story of a Frankie Jones, which was only hinted at during her tragic appearance in A Family of Good Women. Jones weaves a compelling dual timeline that connects Frankie’s past to Margaret’s present. Far From Uncertain: One Woman’s Life of Crime and Other Righteous Deeds is a sweeping, unflinching novel about hidden histories, second chances, and the courage it takes to decide which stories deserve to be told. For fans of fierce heroines, gritty historical settings, and stories of hope forged in hardship—Frankie’s unforgettable journey begins here.
Category: Historical Fiction, Women
Publication Date: March 24, 2026
ISBN (Paper): 978-1-965766-42-2
ISBN (Ebook): 978-1-965766-43-9
Trim size: $22.95
Pages: 312
Trim size: 5.5 x 8.5
George Getschow, Executive Director of the Larry McMurtry Literary CenterFar From Uncertain made me certain of one thing: I’ll never read another novel by Teddy Jones past my typical lights-out time: around midnight. The author’s all-engrossing saga of an indominable 15-year-old girl who overcomes sibling violence, poverty, criminality and all manner of cruelty and finds the courage to forgive her “tormentors” and start over, kept me reading until the sun broke out of the morning haze surrounding Dallas. Beyond the spellbinding story, the fast-paced narrative architecture Jones employed to tell it—toggling chapters between the unbridled Lone Star of the ‘20s and modern-day Texas—kept me in some weird hypnotic state, entirely untethered from my surroundings. So, if you can manage to miss a night of sleep, order Far From Uncertain. Sure, you’ll curse yourself in the morning for staying up with the stars. But in your heart of hearts, you’ll also realize that your life was enriched by this masterful work of fiction that, in so many ways, will seem as real as the flyspeck town of Uncertain on the shores of Caddo Lake."
John Dufresne, author of My Darling Boy“Teddy Jones is a force of nature. I mean who writes seven critically acclaimed and award-winning books of fiction in thirteen years? And now she gives us her eighth, Far from Uncertain, arguably her most compelling and absorbing novel. You’re not going to read many novels as powerful, as honest, and as vivid and irresistible as this one.”
Robin Lippincott, Blue Territory: A Meditation on the Life and Art of Joan Mitchell“A propulsive novel about a girl from Uncertain, Texas (yes, it’s a real place) who’s certain that she never wants to return there, and the 90-year-old woman who believes in the importance of not being too certain. With Far from Uncertain: One Woman’s Life of Crime and Other Righteous Deeds, Teddy Jones has written another bewitching page-turner.”
George Getschow, Executive Director of the Larry McMurtry Literary CenterFar From Uncertain made me certain of one thing: I’ll never read another novel by Teddy Jones past my typical lights-out time: around midnight. The author’s all-engrossing saga of an indominable 15-year-old girl who overcomes sibling violence, poverty, criminality and all manner of cruelty and finds the courage to forgive her “tormentors” and start over, kept me reading until the sun broke out of the morning haze surrounding Dallas. Beyond the spellbinding story, the fast-paced narrative architecture Jones employed to tell it—toggling chapters between the unbridled Lone Star of the ‘20s and modern-day Texas—kept me in some weird hypnotic state, entirely untethered from my surroundings. So, if you can manage to miss a night of sleep, order Far From Uncertain. Sure, you’ll curse yourself in the morning for staying up with the stars. But in your heart of hearts, you’ll also realize that your life was enriched by this masterful work of fiction that, in so many ways, will seem as real as the flyspeck town of Uncertain on the shores of Caddo Lake."
John Dufresne, author of My Darling Boy“Teddy Jones is a force of nature. I mean who writes seven critically acclaimed and award-winning books of fiction in thirteen years? And now she gives us her eighth, Far from Uncertain, arguably her most compelling and absorbing novel. You’re not going to read many novels as powerful, as honest, and as vivid and irresistible as this one.”
Robin Lippincott, Blue Territory: A Meditation on the Life and Art of Joan Mitchell“A propulsive novel about a girl from Uncertain, Texas (yes, it’s a real place) who’s certain that she never wants to return there, and the 90-year-old woman who believes in the importance of not being too certain. With Far from Uncertain: One Woman’s Life of Crime and Other Righteous Deeds, Teddy Jones has written another bewitching page-turner.”
Helena Rho, author of Stone Angels“What I know for certain is Far From Uncertain by Teddy Jones is a page-turner of a novel, suspenseful and gripping. At turns, a thriller, a romance, a mystery, it gives me what I want most from historical fiction—riveting stories about women with chaotic and difficult, joyous and memorable lives that still resonate today. Told from dual timelines—one in the lawless boomtowns of Texas in the 1920s and the other in twenty-first century aughts—the two main characters, Frankie and Margaret contend with unloving families and abusive men while striving to live true meaningful lives. But Far From Uncertain isn’t a narrative from a time gone by that is no longer relevant. It is the story of us in the present and ongoing: How do we live a good life? What happens when the strong prey on the weak? Who is the hero of our story? Jones answers these questions with profound compassion and wisdom in her masterfully crafted novel.”
David Norman, The Watershed ProjectFar From Uncertain will certainly keep you up reading until the early hours. Teddy Jones forges an unforgettable story about the courage to start over and the strength to tell the truth at last. A moving, brilliantly rendered tale of survival, love, and the long road to forgiveness.
What is the true meaning of family?
Imogene Good finds herself wrestling with these questions when, still grieving her mother’s death, she abandons a promising teaching career to open a boarding house in the near-lawless oil boomtown of Borger, Texas. Alone.
Passion, Power, and the Price of Change. Discover the sweeping saga of ambition, family, and the American spirit in this a richly layered novel set against the dramatic backdrop of wartime and postwar Texas. Follow the unforgettable journeys of Brooks and Ray Oakley, two brothers whose divergent paths take them across military frozen landscapes, bustling Austin cafes, cutthroat oil fields, and the booming postwar restaurant scene.
The Confederacy might still exist if not for George Thomas, a Southerner who supported the Union. In this autobiographical novel, Thomas tells his story for the first time, taking readers inside the mind of The Best General in the Civil War.
Espionage, Survival, and the Fight for Texas Independence
From the author of the French Letters trilogy comes a sweeping historical adventure full of unforgettable Texas legends. Laced with exuberant, historical figures such as Sam Houston, Mirabeau Lamar, and Jack Hays, Dangerous Latitudes is a quest across a war-torn frontier that becomes a race to save two hundred captured Texans who the Mexican army has marked for death.
