Cassie, a preacher’s daughter, grew up in the N.C. mountains and planned to go to college, but her unplanned pregnancy and subsequent marriage to Peck Johnson put an end to those dreams. Now it is fifteen years later and she still hasn’t found her way. She is having an affair with her husband’s friend, her marriage is crumbling, and she doesn’t quite know what to do with her sullen teenage daughter. As her fire-chief husband fights fires on the South Carolina lowlands, she flees to the mountains. While much of the action in the book takes place in South Carolina, several North Carolina places loom large in the story. Especially important are Cullowhee and Whiteside Mountain, where Cassie grew up and to which she eventually returns. The book’s narration switches between the perspectives of Peck and Cassie over a month-long period in 1970.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: April 9th, 2009 under 2000-, 2008, Jackson, Mountains, Riggs, Jack.
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