Pete, Forming the Foundation is a story about a farming family in Central Michigan during the Great Depression. When Marie, young and pregnant, learns she's been betrayed by her husband, she determines to raise the child without help from her estranged husband. The family comes alongside and provides the emotional and physical assistance she needs. Times are difficult for every American. Family, neighbors, and friends work together to get through dark days without government assistance. The family strives to form a foundation to stand Pete in good stead throughout his life. It touches on divorce, prejudice, anti-Semitism, a shell-shocked WWI veteran, and loss of the family homestead.