Julia Nunnally Duncan, a frequent contributor to Smoky Mountain Living, welcomes her 13th published book, The Flood of Remembrance (Redhawk Publications, 2025). 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.
The essays focus on her family and her McDowell County community. “A Good Pair of Shoes” (originally published in SML) begins “in the 1960s, on Sunday mornings, I polished my father’s dress shoes,” and continues to recall shoes as appreciated possessions in her family. Another essay, “Decoration Day” (originally published in SML), opens with “my mother’s family faithfully observed Decoration Day at Montford Cove Baptist Church Cemetery.” Decoration Day and other traditions in Appalachia are brought to life through memory and reflection.
The Flood of Remembrance is not about Hurricane Helene and its aftermath. It is, rather, about the flood of memories she recalls from a lifetime spent in Western North Carolina.
Praise for The Flood of Remembrance includes accolades from Dale Neal, author of Kings of Coweetsee, who said, “Duncan offers gems reminiscent of Truman Capote’s childhood stories.”
Tommy Hays, author of The Pleasure Was Mine and the newly published The Wedding Bed, said, “I can’t remember when I’ve been so touched by a book.”
Duncan is an alumnus of Warren Wilson College, and for over 30 years, she taught English and Southern Culture at McDowell Technical Community College in Marion, North Carolina.
Her first book was a collection of short stories, Blue Ridge Shadows (Iris Press, 2002). Since then, she has published fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. She released When Time Was Suspended (Redhawk Publications) in 2024 and All We Have Loved (Finishing Line Press) in 2023.
The Flood of Remembrance can be purchased at tinyurl.com/thefloodofremembrance or ordered through local indie bookstores.