Book Reviews+Storytelling

The Acrobat

My daughter, Annie, and I saw the circus poster while we were shopping on a Saturday afternoon. The poster featured a ferocious looking tiger and announced that the circus was coming to our town, Marion, North Carolina, in a few days.

A Flood of Memories

This collection of personal essays chronicles moments in Duncan’s life—many from her working-class childhood—and captures the culture of rural Western North Carolina.

Bonding over Beans and Books

I first met William Ritter during an appropriately-named event called, Hootenanny, a title bestowed on a gathering whereby string instruments are plucked and folk music sang until the wee hours of morning.

Thoughts on Saving Broken Things

“One of these days this bowl is going to break apart,” my husband said while placing it on the counter. “I can feel it shifting. One day, the bowl will just let go.”

Her Favorite Coat

My mother didn’t like to discard clothes. Our house, built in the late 1940s, had a few small closets: one in my parents’ bedroom, one in my bedroom, and an alcove with a hanging rod at the top of the stairs.

A Time of Appalachian Christmas Cantatas and Pageants

Nervous energy danced around the classroom located just off the sanctuary. For many of us, this was the first time we had been allowed inside the adult Sunday school classroom.

Christmas Pokes

During my childhood in the 1960s, my family’s church, Garden Creek Baptist Church, held an annual Nativity play at Christmastime. The first play that I had a part in, when I was around six years old, required me to recite a Bible verse.

Word from the Smokies

I was at least an hour and a half into my conversation with June Goforth when I joked that she hadn’t given me a chance to ask any questions. She paused a moment before laughing and said, “Oh, I didn’t know you had questions.”

Love and Loss in The Marriage Bed

Blue Moon Keep on Shining

Sins of the Father

The Adventures of Roy Boy and Birdie

To Be or Not To Be

They Did It On Their Own