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Haven Marlowe - Sandra Dee Robinson Panola Wright - Crystal R. Fox Joseph Wright - Darnell Williams Garland Hayes - Leon Greg Marlowe - Robert Scott Wilson Clyde Wright - Trai Byers Paula Hayes - Shannon Kane Adam Hayes - Kingston Faraday Curtis Wright - Trevante Rhodes Alicia Marlowe - Bridgit Mendler Stephen LeBas - Casey Moss Olivia Prospect - Laura Harrier And Victoria Rowell as Rose Prospect

Garland Hayes Raising his family on a supermarket checker’s budget wasn’t easy, but he managed to pull through. He divorced while his children were young and his wife, Rose got remarried to a wealthier man so he has harbored resentment over the years despite the fact that Rose helped raise their two children and provided financial support when necessary. Garland grudgingly accepted money from her only when it was absolutely necessary and he would grumble when the children would come back from visiting Rose with new clothes and toys. But life carried on and now that his children are adults, Garland feels useless. He still has work and also a bigger paycheck now that he only has to support himself, but that bigger paycheck only makes him feel more useless. His relationship with his son Adam is especially strained due to Garland not fully accepting who Adam is. The biggest burden on him is Paula. He tried his best to get her on the right track, even moving his family from Baltimore to Conroy Valley after the divorce for a fresh start. Garland has grown up in a small, rural town and remembered how peaceful things seemed. But it didn’t tame Paula’s spirit any as she would still go to Baltimore with friends and run with her gang. Garland relies a lot of faith, but with Paula being back now his faith is being tested and he finds himself downing one too many beers each night. Paula Hayes Some people are just rebellious spirits and Paula is one of those people. When her parents divorced she decided to deal with her anger by building another family. She joined a street gang called the Lady Warriors when she was 12 and was arrested numerous times by her next birthday. Her aggressive street persona earned her the name “Enforcer Hayes” among her gang friends and she was feared by many on the streets of Baltimore. Rose tried to cure the problem by buying her expensive things, but that only made Paula believe that she had no reason to change. After one of her many arrests, Garland let her sit in jail to learn a lesson, but Rose decided to bail her out. The conflicting parenting styles caused Paula to favor her mother over Garland, especially after Garland moved to Conroy Valley. Rose finally started to see that spoiling Paula had been a terrible idea after Paula married Clyde and made his life a living nightmare. Although she puts up a harsh facade, Paula has never gotten over the loss of her daughter and has spent years in prison feeling tortured about it. But that hasn’t changed her and in fact her personality has hardened. She is no long a street gang member and is looking for other ways to be “Enforcer Hayes”. Adam Hayes Life hasn’t always been the same for Adam and he has gone through many changes. Adam was born Amelia and realized early on that he was a boy. Garland was proud of his daughters and always treated them like princesses when they were little. He’d go to the dollar store and buy toy tiaras, wands and everything else that would make his daughters feel special. When he was young her pretended that he was a prince in a far off land and that got him through hard times, so he wanted his daughters to have their own version of his childhood game. Adam never was interested in any of those things and would go into his father’s closet trying on dress shoes, ties and hats. At first Garland thought it was funny, but as Adam grew and started picking out all his clothes in the boys section of the store, Garland became worried. Once Adam finally gathered the courage to let his father know his true identity, Garland as crushed. Amelia was his mother’s name and to see that name erased hurt him. Over time his youngest daughter disappeared and he saw a son appear before his eyes out of nowhere. Adam felt wonderful, but that happiness was overshadowed by the feeling of his father drifting away from him. Garland barely speaks to Adam now.

Panola Wright With a small business loan and some savings, Panola started a small chain of grocery stores through rural Maryland and in urban areas where there was a food desert. Panola has a heart for community and always gave back as she fought her way into the middle class with her husband, Joseph. She is a lifelong friend of Haven’s and they have both become pillars of the community. Panola was responsible for the opening of Conroy Community College by raising the seed money. She is fiercely protective of her family, especially her son Clyde who doesn’t always make the wisest choices. Panola is the friend that most people want and the enemy that no one wants. She’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, but she can explode like Mt. Vesuvius if you do harm to her family. Joseph Wright He has been with Panola since they attended college in Pennsylvania. He grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and had a privileged upbringing, but he chose to live a rural life when he married Panola. He was a tough prosecutor in Baltimore, but retired after he was shot in retribution for putting away a dangerous street gang member. Now he chronicles his life in Conroy Valley with a cooking show “Rural Lifestyles” and helps take care of his grandchildren. Joseph is the voice of calm for his sons and the dependable presence that Panola needs in difficult times. Joseph’s mother was never pleased with the fact that he moved to a rural town and chose not to marry into the upper levels of Philadelphia society, so he has to keep her in check whenever she visits. Clyde Wright There is probably no one in Conroy Valley with a more complicated life than Clyde. When he was 17 he married the wayward Paula Hayes. Panola warned him against it, but Clyde was blinded by what he thought was love. Almost immediately Paula after the marriage Paula became pregnant with their daughter and while she was pregnant she engaged in crime with a gang in Baltimore where she was originally from. At first Clyde didn’t realize what she was doing, but when he found out he begged her to stop to which she refused. Clyde’s life was a nightmare as he constantly worried about Paula and the baby. Once the baby was born Panola pushed Clyde to take sole custody and divorce Paula, but Clyde wanted to give her a chance. When she didn’t change he decided to follow his mother’s advice. Paula didn’t take the news well and shot Clyde in the chest, then kidnapped their daughter. Eventually the police caught up to her, but she led them on a high speed chase that resulted in a crash that killed her baby. She was tried and went to prison. Years later, Clyde is still struggling to put his life back together but has found some happiness with Paula’s half-sister, Olivia. With Paula recently back in town (unbeknownst to Clyde) after completing her prison sentence, Clyde is probably in for more trouble. Curtis Wright Unlike his older brother Clyde, Curtis hasn’t been on the receiving end of trouble, but has created it. His business practices are more aggressive than Panola would like, but he is quite useful as her right hand man. He is known as a small town corporate shark and some times does business in a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops which makes him seem non-threatening to some adversaries. Who would believe that a guy dressed like that knows anything about business? Those who underestimate him only realize how he really is once it’s too late. The love of his life is Terri James who he has known since high school. Their relationship has been on and off, mostly due to his day and night commitment to work. But his attention to Terri might change when another man comes into her life.

Haven Marlowe The responsibility of being a matriarch of the family came too soon for Haven. Her parents passed away in a tornado that devastated Conroy Valley and heavily damaged the family dairy business. Haven was in her 20s when she had to rebuild the family business and raise her young brother and sister. More than 30 years, one divorce and two children later, Haven still has not found time to breathe and be her own person. Love of family is first for her, but she’d still like more than one sort of love. Greg Marlowe Greg took it the hardest when his parents died and Haven responded by always keeping him close to her as he grew up. This has caused tension between Greg and Haven’s eldest son, Stephen. Greg is only 7 years older than Stephen so there was almost a sibling rivalry of sorts that turned into deep rooted tension when they became adults. Greg has taken the high road and treated Stephen like a brother, but Greg’s emotional problems are aggravated by the tension. Greg continues to reach out to Stephen because of fear of loss. He suffers from chronic depression and anxiety that nearly cripples him to the point of not being able to get out of he bed in the morning. But he struggles through to help Haven run the dairy. Alicia Marlowe Although Haven works hard, Alicia is the workhorse of the family. She spends almost every waking hour practicing her art of hand crafting artisan cheeses that sell in some of the finest markets on the East Coast. Being the youngest she doesn’t remember much about her parents and was mostly insulated from the hurt. When she was first old enough to understand losing her parents she firmly grounded herself and refused to become like Greg. To Alicia emotions are something that you control and not something that you let control you. Stephen LeBas Stephen is Haven’s first born and her biggest handful. Her younger son Seth is attending college overseas, but Stephen has always stayed close by to make sure that he secures his place in the Marlowe legacy. The problem for Stephen is that he doesn’t much want to work for it and merely expects a crown of sorts just for being part of a prosperous family. He has a good mind for ice cream flavors, but he never follows up on any of his idea and instead spends most of his time traveling or attending parties. Because of his strained relationship with Greg, Haven doesn’t pressure Stephen about his lack of drive and ambition. Spoiling him has been her way of showing him that she loves him since he has always felt overshadowed by Greg. Stephen’s worst quality is his mean sense of humor at Greg’s expense. He mocks Greg’s emotional problems mercilessly.

Anatomy of Life is a modern telling of the age old chore of living life. Rural Conroy Valley, Maryland is home to several generations of the upper class Marlowe Family, the middle class Wright Family and the working poor Hayes Family.