In This Valley I Grew, Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow
by Mary Ellen Goble Preece
ISBN: 1-4137-9399-1
Review: Mary Ellen Goble Preece's narrative, In This Valley I Grew, welcomes the reader with homespun stories about Appalachian living. The author recalls people, events, and circumstances that on the surface seem primitive and harsh. Her unpretentious style warms the heart as she presents an era where jobs were scarce and wages were low; where people lived from the land; and where application of the Christian ethic of 'loving thy neighbor as thyself' (Leviticus 19:1 )often made the difference between surviving or starving. The reader cannot help but draw comparisons between subsistence living and the fast-paced, but often uncaring lifestyle, that pervades much of America today. Mrs. Preece's book proves that love of self, of family, of friends, of neighbors, is not borne from material wealth, but from faith-based love--given without limitations, conditions, or attached strings. Mrs. Preece's book invites you to 'set down' in the rocking chair on her front porch where you'll smell the fresh-baked biscuits, wave to a friendly neighbor, and listen to the distant strains of a hammer dulcimer or banjo. Soon she'll join you and begin her recollections. Portions of In This Valley I Grew are suitable for a Smithsonian Museum documentary on twentieth century Appalachian living and culture.
Submitted by: David S. Rosenberg, author Geo-political thrillers: 'No Shortage of Evil' ‘Infusion of Evil' ‘Extension of Evil'
Also: Psychological Thriller: 'Position 12' See: http://www.drosenbergsbooks.com Work in progress: Non-fiction