I have a passion for the family story, and I have been blessed with a plethora of them. My mother grew up in Appalachia during the Great Depression and faced shame because her mother left the family to commit a felony. Her accounts of a childhood without and sleeping in an abandoned log cabin have been seared into my soul. My father, one of fourteen children during the Great Depression, worked on neighboring farms from the age of seven. History has two parts, the facts and details, but the telling of the story wrangles the purpose and sacrifice of those involved.
I sat on my motherās lap as a child to hear stories of her childhood in Appalachiaāno running water or electricity, and the shame brought on by her motherās escape from that hard life. The setting and the characterizations in Book Woman of Troublesome Creek brought back some of the memories of my motherās stories.
I came to love the characterās adaptation to the harsh environment, their want for a better life, and the difference one personās influence can make in a community. The spirit of survival, even with the hardest of circumstances, forced me to cherish this story. It was as if my mother had written this book or perhaps read it to me.
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A USA TODAY BESTSELLER A LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER AN OKRA PICK The bestselling historical fiction from Kim Michele Richardson, this is a novel following Cussy Mary, a packhorse librarian and her quest to bring books to the Appalachian community she loves, perfect for readers of Lee Smith and Lisa Wingate. The perfect addition to your next book club! The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything-everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome's got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter. Cussy's not onlyā¦
After a trip to Florence to see Michelangeloās earlier works and then David, I struggled to understand the genius, his intense pursuit of excellence, and how his surroundings influenced his art.
The author set me in one of the most fascinating eras of history and made me feel as if I were an apprentice in Michelangeloās shop. I wept to comprehend the artist and realized that perfection was not a choice for Michelangelo, but a non-negotiable burden.
As I now observe genius in a musician, a scientist, or a mother caring for an autistic child, I give credence to what I learned from Oliver Stoneās portrayal of Michelangelo.
Irving Stone's classic biographical novel of Michelangelo-the #1 New York Times bestseller in which both the artist and the man are brought to vivid, captivating life.
His time-the turbulent Renaissance, the years of poisoning princes, warring Popes, and the all-powerful de'Medici family...
His loves-the frail and lovely daughter of Lorenzo de'Medici, the ardent mistress of Marco Aldovrandi, and his last love, his greatest love-the beautiful, unhappy Vittoria Colonna...
His genius-a God-driven fury from which he wrested brilliant work that made a grasp for heaven unmatched in half a millennium...
His name-Michelangelo Buonarroti. Creator of the David, painter of the ceilingā¦
Charlotte Roseās quiet life on a remote island is forever changed the day Michael Cordero, injured and bleeding, steers his ketch, Shearwater, into her cove. Charlotte tends to Michaelās wounds, using the skills sheās learned caring for her husband and son, who are away fishing for salmon. As Michael recovers,ā¦
Sometimes people are given a horrible position at birth either by economics, environmental conditions, or bad luck. The Four Winds helped me understand some of the great migrations that have occurred in this country and the motivations that inspired the move.
I came to root for Elsa, the flawed main character, who sincerely did the best she could for her son. I felt her pain, agony, and frustration when a series of bad events happened along her journey.
It wasnāt an easy read, but a necessary one to understand resilience, courage, strength, and doing what you have to do when given no other choice.
"The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of the Year."--Publishers Weekly
From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them.
āMy land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.ā
Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is onā¦
Though becoming a prisoner in Auschwitz is unfathomable to me, I became attached to the Alma and her daily sorrows and struggles to endure her life in a concentration camp.
I believe that we are given two tasks in our lives: one, to figure out why we are distinctly ourselves (our gifts), and two, to use that gift to help others however we can. I was inspired by Alma, who used her gift in an extraordinary way to make the lives of many others better. And when presented with few choices, she chose the one that would benefit others.
I was hooked from the beginning of this heartbreaking story.
A freak accident on board the HMS Spartan during a sea battle with the French navy in 1804 catapults Midshipman Harry Heron and his shipmates Ferghal O'Connor and Danny Gunn four hundred years into the future, landing them on the NECS Vanguard, flagship of the World Treaty Organisation Fleet.
I am a student of World War II since my father served in Europe and Africa over 3 Ā½ years (with 3 Purple Hearts). My father died before I had a chance to ask him questions about his experience in the war. To me, he was just a father. I now know what he hero he was.
In Beneath a Scarlet Sky, I imagined my father, plucked from a farm in Ohio and delivered to extraordinary circumstances that required valor, which earned his unit three Presidential Unit Citations. Even though the main character, teenager Pino Lela, was not forced to serve, he participated in one of the most humanitarian missions of the war to deliver downed pilots to safety. I appreciate the amount of research it took to retell Pinoās story.
Soon to be a major television event from Pascal Pictures, starring Tom Holland.
Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, the USA Today and #1 Amazon Charts bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man's incredible courage and resilience during one of history's darkest hours.
Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He's a normal Italian teenager-obsessed with music, food, and girls-but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escapeā¦
Life is hard for Ruby growing up in poverty on the wrong side of the mountain where literally the sun didnāt shine. Life on her grandfatherās farm conflicts with her search for an easy life at the "tippy-top" with contentment and security. Two different men come into her life, one virtuous and the other rebellious. Ruby makes a series of bad decisions, causing her life to tumble into an unexpected outcome.
In this tale, during Prohibition Era Appalachian Tennessee, the setting and the mountain community become other characters of the story. Based on a real-life tale of the authorās grandmotherās felony conviction, the reader gets immersed in Rubyās choices as she searches for worthiness and belonging. Was her journey worth the risk of losing her family?
Who was the man who would become Caesar's lieutenant, Brutus' rival, Cleopatra's lover, and Octavian's enemy?
When his stepfather is executed for his involvement in the Catilinarian conspiracy, Mark Antony and his family are disgraced. His adolescence is marked by scandal and mischief, his love affairs are fleeting, and yet,ā¦
My Year of Casual Acquaintances
by
Ruth F. Stevens,
When Marās husband divorces her, she reacts by abandoning everything in her past: her home, her friends, even her name. Though it's not easy starting over, sheās ready for new adventuresāas long as she can keep things casual. Each month, Mar goes from one acquaintance to the next: a fellowā¦