Mary Dannie transports the reader into the lovely mountains of Southeastern Kentucky. It is a story of the struggles, simple joys and wisdom surrounding a young girl growing up in the 1940's in Appalachia.
Enjoyed this sweet story set in the Kentucky mountains in years gone by. Troubles me to see such a handful of grammatical errors, misspellings and the like. "My other brother's were talking about enlisting" for example. Doesn't the author know the correct usage of an apostrophe? Would've appreciated a bit more of a plot, but the writing itself was excellent, captivating. Enjoyable, simple read.
Lovely story about a family living in the Holler. My heart hurt and my tears ran freely when the Father passed. Real emotions and the quiet that death brings into a family. My Dad passed a few years ago... and I will never get over his death. But, just as Mary Dannie and Sadie grieved, they also knew they would see him again. Life was hard, but at the end of every day... they were Family and were rich in that knowledge. #ReadThisBook
The early life of a young woman living in the Kentucky Mountains
A interesting story narrated by tbe and oldest daughter of a mining family scraping by in the Kentucky mountains. I really enjoyed it/ Sadly the ending was rather abrupt. I would have enjoyed reading more about the young woman.
I just loved reading this book. It was full of very difficult struggles to overcome the adversity of the great depression era. This was just before my time, but it was something that my parents experienced. As I read this book, I became very thankful for the comforts that I experience every day and I also reflected on some of the things my parents had shared about the depression years.
This story was my family so close to all that I remember from my life in coal city west Virginia, my cousins and aunts and uncles ,my grandmother on my daddy's side was Fannie, my grandmother on my mother's side was jewel ,this was just so meant to be ,I started and stayed with it to the end ,loved this book
I did enjoy this book, it was written in a way that made you feel you were there with this family, through their heartaches and joys. How wonderful to be able to preserve your family history this way. The photos really helped to make it real. I don’t give 5 stars lightly, they were earned.
This book brings back memories of my own childhood in southeast Kentucky. Although Mary Dannies time was before mine, there is a lot of similarities. Still love these mountains in all their glory. Great book, highly recommended.
I felt like I was right there in Mary Dannie ' s tiny cabin in that hollow. It was a story so well worth reading. It opened my eyes as to just how hard life was for some peop!e living in the mountains in the 1930s .
ME Neil did a wonderful job of weaving the good times and the bad..The wonderful right knit family who didn't always agree but was always there for each other..
Exceptional people come from everywhere. Even poor environments produce rich wonder talented people. Dirt poor has given us giants. The characters felt real and familiar
I had a very hard time putting this book down. Reading the hard ships of what these people endured and conquering so much more being a happy family. I absolutely loved this book
Well written and heartfelt. I laughed and cried. Couldn't put it down. Sometimes I felt like I could feel exactly the intensity of Mary Dannie's experience's.
I was very surprised that this book had a four and a half star rating. I was super disappointed on the abrupt way the book just ended. I was enjoying the story one minute and the next it was over. No idea about what happened to any of the characters except the father. Really disappointing.
This book chronicles the life of a young woman longing to shed the hardships of her childhood and what decisions she made to make it happen. Good memoir.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Normally I read very intense books that can leave me somewhat drained. This book was very interesting and real. I loved meeting her family.
This story dipicts life in the impoverished mountainous coal country of southeastern Kentucky during the Post Depression Era, 1940's America. It was a hard-scrabble growing up time for Mary Dannie, third born but the eldest living of three girls and four boys, who were children of married couple, Jackson and Sadie Bullins. Of course, Jackson and Sadie were known lovingly as Daddy and Mamma. The àuthor's mother was Mary Dannie and, though this book is a work of fiction, she says it is based on actual stories told to her and events her mother was old enough to remember.*
The novel is a well-written accounting of Mary Dannie's life in the small mountain cabin of her teen years. The door to her parents' room was a blanket. Yes, they grew up poor with mainly cornbread and beans to eat...but they ate! Life was simple with lots of struggles and a small measure of fun and laughter. They had love in those spare times, as well.
I recommend this poignant story to anyone who would enjoy a simple tale of family life in times gone by. It will warm your heart so be on the lookout for that...
*note: Mary Dannie ànd her siblings mentioned within these chapters and stories were no longer living by the time this book was published nor were Sadie and Jackson Bullins, of course.
The author draws you in from page one and keeps you hooked. Mary Dannie had a tough time of it growing up and by the end of the story you feel like you know her.