Set in Appalachia and the Midwest at the turn of the twentieth century and inspired by the author\'s family lore, this exquisite novel paints an intimately rendered portrait of one resilient farm family\'s challenges and hard-won triumphs--helmed by an unforgettable heroine.
Inspired by stories told by the author\'s mother and aunts, All the Forgivenesses is as authentic as it is lyrical--a captivating novel of family loyalty, redemption, and resilience..
Only by confronting wrenching truths can she open herself to joy--and learn how to not only give, but receive, unfettered love.
But marriage alone cannot resolve the grief and guilt she carries over a long-ago tragedy, or prepare her for the heartaches still to come.
Ever pragmatic, Bertie marries young, grateful to find a husband willing to take on the care of her sisters, and eventually moves to the oil fields of Kansas.
Finally, Bertie makes the only choice she can--breaking up the family for its own survival, keeping the girls with her, sending the boys off to their grown brothers, long gone from home.
Nine-year-old Dacia, especially, is resentful and stubborn, hinting at secrets in their mama\'s life.
Yet no matter how hard she tries to hold the family together; the task is overwhelming.
When Polly succumbs to a long illness, Bertie takes on responsibility for her four younger siblings and their dissolute, unreliable daddy.
What she doesn\'t know, but is forced to reckon with all too soon, is how to look after children as a mother should...
She knows how to lance a boil, make a pie crust, butcher a pig, and tend to every chore that needs doing.
Growing up on their hardscrabble farm in rural Kentucky, fifteen-year-old Albertina Bertie Winslow has learned a lot from her mama, Polly.
Set in Appalachia and the Midwest at the turn of the twentieth century and inspired by the author\'s family lore, this exquisite novel paints an intimately rendered portrait of one resilient farm family\'s challenges and hard-won triumphs--helmed by an unforgettable heroine
