Secret Famous Artist Joe Mullen chronicles the life of an enormously talented artist, and is spiced with vignettes demonstrating intelligence, courage, shenanigans, humor, and kindness.
Huddle writes, "My brother marched to the beat of his own drum-oftentimes it played 'Wipeout.' Joe Mullen was authentic and lived a principled life while maintaining his personal sovereignty."
Huddle has rendered a character sketch of her late brother regarding his protest of the draconian dress code when he was a senior at Sayre Area High School in 1971.To call attention to the inequity of the rigid dress code, Mullen went on a public two-day hunger fast, which resulted in opening dialogue between students and the school board. Refusing to leave class because he 'was not clean shaven, ' Mullen sparked a 250-student walk-out when he was escorted out of his Problems of Democracy class by the local police for violating the oppressive dress code. He left quietly with the police, simply stating, "Mahatma Gandhi is my hero."
The heart of the book recounts a poignant love story between Joe and Maggie, who were gifted with a heartrending relationship in their golden years.