My parents came from deep within the North Carolina Appalachian Mountains, and I was born on the eastern edge of them on a small farm. Appalachian culture has a tradition of storytelling, and my mother was the storyteller in our family. My dad told jokes and debated on issues, but Mother told folk tales, recited poetry she remembered by heart, and even made up her own stories on occasion.

 I started first grade when I was five, and I discovered more stories than I could ever read in books and ...