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Four elderly southern women share a house, a history, and heartbreaking secrets. Baby girl, I hope you're listening real good to what I'm gonna tell you about that sure-enough miracle we got us. Had to be a miracle, because in all my born days, I didn't never think it could turn out like this. Didn't never think you'd be sitting right here on this very porch with me, hearing me talk about all us folks you don't know nothing much about yet.. . . Back then, I didn't really know that all the folks who came ahead of us are like the brown roots of a big old vine growing close to the porch, and even though those roots are way down deep in the ground where we can't see them, they're still there. And we grow from them, our whole lives, and then, if we're lucky, others grow from us. Well, I expect that the ones who came before us--black and white--had things they had to keep still about, too, just like me and Miss Cora. Things we had to do, whether we liked it or not. And then never speak of them again. Augusta Trobaugh is the acclaimed author of fine novels including PraiseJerusalem, Sophie and the Rising Sun, and coming soon, Music From Beyond the Moon.
"[Augusta Trobaugh] streamlines her rich Southern style and creates a narrative as delicate as a line drawing" - USA Today Dove, Molly, Little Ellis and Crystal are runaways with nowhere to turn and no one they can trust until they arrive at a secret sanctuary called Swan Place, where they are taken under wing by a remarkable group of women. "Both inspirational and down-to-earth." - Publishers Weekly "The powers of religion, family, and love work together to combat racism while offering hope." ~ Library Journal "A touching story of people finding sanctuary and kindness in unlikely places when they need it most." ~ Booklist Augusta Trobaugh is the author of acclaimed southern novels including Music From Beyond the Moon, The Tea-Olive Bird Watching Society, Sophie and the Rising Sun, Resting in the Bosom of the Lamb, and Praise Jerusalem!
Pansy, newly saved and released from prison, Jordan, a girl with an adventurous imagination, and Miss Amylee, Jordan's stepgrandmother, form an unlikely trio as they find themselves emeshed in the struggles and capers of their neighbors.
Bright lights flicker in the dark evenings of summer. Pinpoints of hope float against the black descent of night. The sweetest of small and innocent creatures finds its way through the shadows. Fireflies seem to dance on sheer air, illuminating the space between heartbeats. Children give off a similar brave glow, despite the challenges of their young lives. The lessons of childhood are often painful, the shedding of fragile wings in the gloam of an uncertain future. These rich novellas are small jewels reflecting the essence of what it means to grow up dancing among the shadows of life, carrying a brave, small beacon because you know that even the brightest days always, always, end in darkne...
Fans of southern novels that explore the complex relationships between white families and their black hired help will find a compelling story about race relations in PRAISE JERUSALEM. Amelia, an aging Georgia matron forced by money woes to move in with two other women--outlandishly preachy Maybelline and take-no-nonsense Mamie, who is black--begins to confront her childhood memories of the black women who worked for her family. Their lives, both tragic and yet sublimely proud, haunt Amelia even now, as she searches for a way to make peace with the sorrows she innocently observed. PRAISE JERUSALEM is a rare mix of poignant drama but also wry humor. Both the elder Amelia and her childhood self are primly rebellious and irrepressible; Amelia's sharp eye for petty human foibles never fails her.
An unforgettable story of an extraordinary love and a town's prejudice during World War II. Sophie and the Rising Sun "suggests the small but heartwarming triumphs made possible by human dignity and courage." -Publisher's Weekly. In sleepy Salty Creek, Georgia, strangers are rare. When a quiet, unassuming stranger arrives--a Japanese man with a secret history of his own--he becomes the talk of the town and a new beginning for lonely Sophie, who lost her first love during World War I. Middle-aged Sophie had resigned herself to a passionless existence. That all begins to change as she finds herself drawn to the mysterious Mr. Oto. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Mr. Oto's newfound life comes under siege; his safety, even in Salty Creek, is no longer certain. Sophie must decide how much she is willing to risk for a future with the man who has brought such joy into her life. Visit the author at: www.AugustaTrobaugh.com
When her beloved husband of forty-eight years dies, Imogene "Imo" Lavender takes solace in her tomato garden and finds her own life beginning to blossom. Raising two young women—her rebellious sixteen-year-old daughter, Jeanette, and Lou, the thirteen-year-old niece she has taken in—demands most of her time, but a friend insists that a trip to the Kuntry Kut 'n' Kurl and a new man are what Imo really needs. At her prompting, Imo sets off on a hilarious dating spree with a series of unsuitable bachelors. While Jeanette grows increasingly reckless, Lou joins her aunt in the garden, learning lessons about love and life. A shocking announcement from Jeanette and a sudden death then remind them all that life, like a garden, changes with the seasons—and that the healing of a heart comes with time, love, and patience, just as surely as a new crop of tomatoes rewards a devoted gardener.
Stories tell of a handyman who overhears a murder plot, a revolutionary who falls asleep on guard duty, a trash man pondering his life, a sidewalk artist, a retired soldier, and a midnight rendezvous.
“River Jordan’s Saints in Limbo is a compelling story of the mysteries of existence and, specially, the mysteries of the human heart.” –Ron Rash, author of Serena and Chemistry and Other Stories “I lose myself in River’s writing–transported to a different time and place– and in this case, to one that makes the ordinary mystical and magical. I give it FIVE diamonds in the Pulpwood Queen’s TIARA!” –Kathy L. Patrick, founder of the Pulpwood Queens Book Clubs and author of The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara Wearing, Book Sharing Guide to Life Ever since her husband Joe died, Velma True’s world has been limited to what she can see while clinging to one of the multicolored thread...
The end of segregation made little difference in the daily lives of old Miss Minnie and her day-helper, Lula. But when a figment of Miss Minnie’s addled imagination threatens Lula's long-held job security, Lula uses the old, entrenched rules of segregation to dispel that figment -- with surprising results. A short story.