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The Funeral Dress
A deeply touching Southern story filled with struggle and hope.
Emmalee Bullard and her new baby are on their own. Or so she thinks, until Leona Lane, the older seamstress who sat by her side at the local shirt factory where both women worked as collar makers, insists Emmalee come and live with her. Just as Emmalee prepares to escape her hardscrabble life in Red Chert holler, Leona dies tragically. Grief-stricken, Emmalee decides she’ll make Leona’s burying dress, but there are plenty of people who don't think the unmarried Emmalee should design a dress for a Christian woman - or care for a child on her own. But with every stitch, Emmalee struggles to do what is right for her daughter and to honor Leona the best way she can, finding unlikely support among an indomitable group of seamstresses and the town’s funeral director. In a moving tale exploring Southern spirit and camaraderie among working women, a young mother will compel a town to become a community.
Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader’s guide and bonus content
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Emmalee Bullard and her new baby are on their own. Or so she thinks, until Leona Lane, the older seamstress who sat by her side at the local shirt factory where both women worked as collar makers, insists Emmalee come and live with her. Just as Emmalee prepares to escape her hardscrabble life in Red Chert holler, Leona dies tragically. Grief-stricken, Emmalee decides she’ll make Leona’s burying dress, but there are plenty of people who don't think the unmarried Emmalee should design a dress for a Christian woman - or care for a child on her own. But with every stitch, Emmalee struggles to do what is right for her daughter and to honor Leona the best way she can, finding unlikely support among an indomitable group of seamstresses and the town’s funeral director. In a moving tale exploring Southern spirit and camaraderie among working women, a young mother will compel a town to become a community.
Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader’s guide and bonus content
From the Trade Paperback edition.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2013
218 people are currently reading
6242 people want to read
About the author
Susan Gregg Gilmore
7 books422 followersSusan Gregg Gilmore's fourth novel, The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush (Blair), will be released August 25.
Although her artist mother bought Gilmore her first easel and box of paints when she was five, it was her father's love of family storytelling that captured her attention.
Gilmore knew at an early age that she wanted to write but was first drawn to journalism not fiction. While at the University of Virginia, she wrote for the student paper, The Cavalier Daily.
Later, while raising her three daughters, she joined the staff of The Chattanooga News Free Press as a features writer and columnist. After relocating to Southern California, she regularly freelanced for The Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor.
Her first novel, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, was a USA TODAY and AMAZON bestseller and is rooted in summer vacations spent with her paternal grandmother and grandfather, a revival-bred preacher, who after church on Sundays, always took his granddaughters to the Dairy Queen.
Gilmore currently lives in Chattanooga with her husband, Dan.
Although her artist mother bought Gilmore her first easel and box of paints when she was five, it was her father's love of family storytelling that captured her attention.
Gilmore knew at an early age that she wanted to write but was first drawn to journalism not fiction. While at the University of Virginia, she wrote for the student paper, The Cavalier Daily.
Later, while raising her three daughters, she joined the staff of The Chattanooga News Free Press as a features writer and columnist. After relocating to Southern California, she regularly freelanced for The Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor.
Her first novel, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, was a USA TODAY and AMAZON bestseller and is rooted in summer vacations spent with her paternal grandmother and grandfather, a revival-bred preacher, who after church on Sundays, always took his granddaughters to the Dairy Queen.
Gilmore currently lives in Chattanooga with her husband, Dan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 589 reviews
October 22, 2014
A beautifully written, easy read, filled with wonderful, believable characters that I took to my heart. There wasn't anything I didn't like about this book.
I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys southern lit which, since joining Goodreads, is fast becoming my favourite genre.
May 28, 2020
I loved this book! I hated for the story to end. This is one of those books that gets you emotionally attached to the characters. I felt for Emmalee and her situation. I loved Leona and Curtis. I enjoyed the chapters that went into their earlier years. This was a remarkable story about the power of friendship and the coming together of a community in a time of sorrow. It was a tribute to the lives and friendships of working women in America. This story will have you cheering for the underdog and will stay with you for a long time after you finish it.
I read all three of this author's books in a row. Although separate stories, each one was unique in their own way. I loved all three, but this one affected me the most emotionally. I hope this author writes more books. I will be keeping an eye out for her next story. I am now officially a fan of Susan Gregg Gilmore!
I read all three of this author's books in a row. Although separate stories, each one was unique in their own way. I loved all three, but this one affected me the most emotionally. I hope this author writes more books. I will be keeping an eye out for her next story. I am now officially a fan of Susan Gregg Gilmore!
September 23, 2013
Susan Gregg Gilmore gained many new fans when she spoke at the first Booktopia Vermont. I will never forget her voice as she read a bit of Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen. It is this voice I hear when reading Gilmore's new book The Funeral Dress: A Novel I'm glad for this as it is the Tennessee or southern inflection that makes the story flow languidly like honey for me. You can just hear these women talking but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
The Funeral Dress: A Novel is just that, a novel; fiction but takes many characteristics from fact. Gilmore's setting of the Tennessee hills and hollers and the textile plant are as much personalities as any of the women in these pages. Emmalee Bullard, a Red Chert Holler gal loses her mother at a young age. Her father, Nolan, constantly makes her feel responsible for her mother's death. He seems one mean, lonely man. "Emmalee Bullard became a Tennewa girl on the last Thursday in May." So begins the story of Emmalee's start at The Tennewa Shirt Factory that day in 1974. Seventeen, well, almost; just sixteen. She could sew a mite but hardly how to sew a straight seam let alone the collars, hundreds of collars she'd need to finish each day for two bucks an hour during her 8 hour shift. Those dollars could buy her freedom and get her out of her father's house. perhaps even out of the holler. On her very first day Emmalee is left sitting next to Leona, one of Tennewa's best collar seamstresses. After a slow start Leona and some of the other women take Emmalee under their wing, teaching her the ropes. Skip ahead 3 years and we find Emmalee, "waiting for the first speck of sun", "Dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a faded green T-shirt stretched too tight around her belly still swollen from giving birth" to a girl, Kelly Faye. You immediately feel Emmalee's pain and hopelessness at this turn of events. How will she ever leave the holler now? Leona, who has become more like a mother to Emmalee plots a plan to bring her and the baby to live with she and her husband Curtis in their trailer home. Tight quarters but Leona will make room for them both. She's got her reasons. Fate steps in yet again and Leona and Curtis are killed in a horrific car crash. Emmalee can't seem to catch a break. Now what? Emmalee decides she will sew Leona the most beautiful funeral dress, one that will honor her friend's memory. Emmalee's and Leona's stories intertwine, unfolding using flashbacks and alternating chapters, heartbreaking and sad and yet with a glimmer of hope. I cared what happened to Emmalee and Kelly Faye, reading on to what was a satisfying conclusion for me.
Gilmore is a good writer, giving her characters a face, stitching up a true picture of these hard working women's lives and the connections they make to form community. Be certain to visit her facebook page to see the factory and women who inspired this story.
3 to 4 stars for me - round up I say!
The Funeral Dress: A Novel is just that, a novel; fiction but takes many characteristics from fact. Gilmore's setting of the Tennessee hills and hollers and the textile plant are as much personalities as any of the women in these pages. Emmalee Bullard, a Red Chert Holler gal loses her mother at a young age. Her father, Nolan, constantly makes her feel responsible for her mother's death. He seems one mean, lonely man. "Emmalee Bullard became a Tennewa girl on the last Thursday in May." So begins the story of Emmalee's start at The Tennewa Shirt Factory that day in 1974. Seventeen, well, almost; just sixteen. She could sew a mite but hardly how to sew a straight seam let alone the collars, hundreds of collars she'd need to finish each day for two bucks an hour during her 8 hour shift. Those dollars could buy her freedom and get her out of her father's house. perhaps even out of the holler. On her very first day Emmalee is left sitting next to Leona, one of Tennewa's best collar seamstresses. After a slow start Leona and some of the other women take Emmalee under their wing, teaching her the ropes. Skip ahead 3 years and we find Emmalee, "waiting for the first speck of sun", "Dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a faded green T-shirt stretched too tight around her belly still swollen from giving birth" to a girl, Kelly Faye. You immediately feel Emmalee's pain and hopelessness at this turn of events. How will she ever leave the holler now? Leona, who has become more like a mother to Emmalee plots a plan to bring her and the baby to live with she and her husband Curtis in their trailer home. Tight quarters but Leona will make room for them both. She's got her reasons. Fate steps in yet again and Leona and Curtis are killed in a horrific car crash. Emmalee can't seem to catch a break. Now what? Emmalee decides she will sew Leona the most beautiful funeral dress, one that will honor her friend's memory. Emmalee's and Leona's stories intertwine, unfolding using flashbacks and alternating chapters, heartbreaking and sad and yet with a glimmer of hope. I cared what happened to Emmalee and Kelly Faye, reading on to what was a satisfying conclusion for me.
Gilmore is a good writer, giving her characters a face, stitching up a true picture of these hard working women's lives and the connections they make to form community. Be certain to visit her facebook page to see the factory and women who inspired this story.
3 to 4 stars for me - round up I say!
October 7, 2013
I highly recommend this book. I very seldom cry and this book brought tears to my eye with its tender story several times.
I grew up in a little town much like Cullen in MS. The community is eerily similar to the one I grew up in and my mom worked most of her life in a sewing factory to make sure we had food and clothes.She was my hero and their were so many woman in these factories who were like the characters in the book who did what they had to do to provide for their families.
These small communties while rife with gossip still held you close and were always there with food when the chips were down. I remember our local funeral home was and still is much like this one. I remember business putting wreaths on their door when someone died and sitting up with the dead. I remember the way these women showed love by bringing their best dishes.
Most people would say their life had no value but the people like in this book are the salt of the earth and the type of everyday people who work hard,never have much , but who are content with their lives and their faith and are the fabric that holds this country together and makes this country great.
I loved this book and it will stay with me long after it read it.
I grew up in a little town much like Cullen in MS. The community is eerily similar to the one I grew up in and my mom worked most of her life in a sewing factory to make sure we had food and clothes.She was my hero and their were so many woman in these factories who were like the characters in the book who did what they had to do to provide for their families.
These small communties while rife with gossip still held you close and were always there with food when the chips were down. I remember our local funeral home was and still is much like this one. I remember business putting wreaths on their door when someone died and sitting up with the dead. I remember the way these women showed love by bringing their best dishes.
Most people would say their life had no value but the people like in this book are the salt of the earth and the type of everyday people who work hard,never have much , but who are content with their lives and their faith and are the fabric that holds this country together and makes this country great.
I loved this book and it will stay with me long after it read it.
October 24, 2013
THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :
Oh, my, what a storyteller Susan Gregg Gilmore is. The title of this wonderful book doesn't begin to really give insight into the richness of the tale you'll find in it. I really couldn't stop reading it, though I found myself stopping momentarily many times, putting the book down and just recalling days in my life that fit the scenarios and places she describes. This is a treasure of a book.
I want to say something else about the story here. It is so full and moving as to have made me catch a tear and lump at my throat often. This is old-fashioned "tear jerker" at its finest, but that's not all it is. It's a relationship story too. The women in this novel are deeply and significantly drawn so that you understand who they are and you can't help identifying with them in their struggles. Their interrelationships are so meaningful.
One of my grandmothers was a mill worker in NC not far from the Tennessee border and the Blue Ridge Mountains where this story takes place. She was a single mother, raising my mother alone in the 1930's to '40's. She was such a woman as this book describes. Dedicated to her work, strong and independent but with a tender heart inside, devoted to her friends at work, talented and helping others, and religious. She never missed work. Susan Gregg Gilmore has captured the heart of these women.
The story of Emmalee and her baby sits solidly amidst the rest of the story of Leona's, the older textile worker. As it flashes back and forth it completes the circle and draws us in to the whole. I thought the book was completely amazing and so heart-wrenching that my chest was nearly constantly tightening and my eyes welling up. It's a good thing Crown Publishing sent me a complimentary packet of Kleenex with the book! LOL
This is a novel you can't miss reading. It's perfect for discussion with friends and book groups. Please do yourself a favor and don't miss this one!
5 stars Deborah/TheBookishDame
Oh, my, what a storyteller Susan Gregg Gilmore is. The title of this wonderful book doesn't begin to really give insight into the richness of the tale you'll find in it. I really couldn't stop reading it, though I found myself stopping momentarily many times, putting the book down and just recalling days in my life that fit the scenarios and places she describes. This is a treasure of a book.
I want to say something else about the story here. It is so full and moving as to have made me catch a tear and lump at my throat often. This is old-fashioned "tear jerker" at its finest, but that's not all it is. It's a relationship story too. The women in this novel are deeply and significantly drawn so that you understand who they are and you can't help identifying with them in their struggles. Their interrelationships are so meaningful.
One of my grandmothers was a mill worker in NC not far from the Tennessee border and the Blue Ridge Mountains where this story takes place. She was a single mother, raising my mother alone in the 1930's to '40's. She was such a woman as this book describes. Dedicated to her work, strong and independent but with a tender heart inside, devoted to her friends at work, talented and helping others, and religious. She never missed work. Susan Gregg Gilmore has captured the heart of these women.
The story of Emmalee and her baby sits solidly amidst the rest of the story of Leona's, the older textile worker. As it flashes back and forth it completes the circle and draws us in to the whole. I thought the book was completely amazing and so heart-wrenching that my chest was nearly constantly tightening and my eyes welling up. It's a good thing Crown Publishing sent me a complimentary packet of Kleenex with the book! LOL
This is a novel you can't miss reading. It's perfect for discussion with friends and book groups. Please do yourself a favor and don't miss this one!
5 stars Deborah/TheBookishDame
July 29, 2016
Meh. Not my thing. I'm not exactly sure why I even bothered, because I was quite positive this would be my reaction before I started it.
The supposed premise is that of an overwrought teenager making a dress for an older woman to be buried in. Said older woman worked with teen in a dress factory, and was going to help her bring up her ill-advised and totally unexpected baby. The narrative switches between perspectives, that of - Emmalee, the teen and Leona, the older woman who dies pretty much right off the bat. Neither raises much interest. Especially that of Leona's, because it doesn't actually contribute much to the narrative. (Why, for example, did we need to know about her ? It's neither here nor there).
According to the book blurb, the conflict in the book was supposed to be of sin, and of the correctness of someone who had a baby out of wedlock sewing a dress for a beloved person. I don't think the blurb-writer read the same book as I did. The dress is made before half the book has passed (using upholstery material, no less). There's one conversation between preacher and sinner about the dress. Beyond that, no one cares. The rest of the tedious book has to do with Emmalee's new-found love for her baby and everyone and their cousin trying to part mom and girl.
I should have liked it, given how most of Emmalee's problems come from her baby being an om-nom monster. My own is exactly the same at this point. But I didn't. It was boring, and it wasn't written in the way that endeared Emmalee to me in any way. I thought the change in her - from hating the little one to becoming enamored with it - was too sudden to be believable. I also thought that everyone was right - she was wrong for the baby. She's really whiny too. So is Leona, actually. Emmalee's aunt, uncle and father are needless villains.
I felt physically tired reading this book. I cared nothing for the characters, I didn't care if they thrived or drowned, I just wanted it to end. 2 stars, I'm not sure why.
The supposed premise is that of an overwrought teenager making a dress for an older woman to be buried in. Said older woman worked with teen in a dress factory, and was going to help her bring up her ill-advised and totally unexpected baby. The narrative switches between perspectives, that of - Emmalee, the teen and Leona, the older woman who dies pretty much right off the bat. Neither raises much interest. Especially that of Leona's, because it doesn't actually contribute much to the narrative. (Why, for example, did we need to know about her ? It's neither here nor there).
According to the book blurb, the conflict in the book was supposed to be of sin, and of the correctness of someone who had a baby out of wedlock sewing a dress for a beloved person. I don't think the blurb-writer read the same book as I did. The dress is made before half the book has passed (using upholstery material, no less). There's one conversation between preacher and sinner about the dress. Beyond that, no one cares. The rest of the tedious book has to do with Emmalee's new-found love for her baby and everyone and their cousin trying to part mom and girl.
I should have liked it, given how most of Emmalee's problems come from her baby being an om-nom monster. My own is exactly the same at this point. But I didn't. It was boring, and it wasn't written in the way that endeared Emmalee to me in any way. I thought the change in her - from hating the little one to becoming enamored with it - was too sudden to be believable. I also thought that everyone was right - she was wrong for the baby. She's really whiny too. So is Leona, actually. Emmalee's aunt, uncle and father are needless villains.
I felt physically tired reading this book. I cared nothing for the characters, I didn't care if they thrived or drowned, I just wanted it to end. 2 stars, I'm not sure why.
October 12, 2013
A child herself, unwed, a baby, no mother, not attending school, working at a sewing factory, an abusive father, and no place to go. How much more could Emmalee take?
Emmalee Bullard quit school because her father told her he was tired of taking care of her, and she needed to get a job. She fortunately was hired at the town's sewing factory and met a wonderful woman, Leona, who treated her like family, but then that didn't work out either for Emmalee.
Emmalee had to make a funeral dress for Leona not long after Leona was going to help her. Emmalee's heart was broken, and yours will break for her as she suffers yet another loss in her life.
You will fall in love with Emmalee, feel her pain, and want to hug her and take care of her. You will want to take her away from all of this.
THE FUNERAL DRESS is about loving someone and wanting to remember them the best way you can. It is about caring for others even if they aren't family. It is about the bond women have for each other. Every part of THE FUNERAL DRESS is simply lovely even though it is sad.
Ms. Gilmore's writing style is easy and beautiful. You will be right there with the characters enjoying their time together as well as being there as they help each other through unhappy times.
This is the first book I have read by this author. It left me with a deep sentiment about the unspoken bonds women have and also with a better understanding of the plight of many women right in our midst.
THE FUNERAL DRESS will leave you with a lingering warmth and concern for the characters as you close the cover. Make sure THE FUNERAL DRESS is part of your "must read" list. 5/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Emmalee Bullard quit school because her father told her he was tired of taking care of her, and she needed to get a job. She fortunately was hired at the town's sewing factory and met a wonderful woman, Leona, who treated her like family, but then that didn't work out either for Emmalee.
Emmalee had to make a funeral dress for Leona not long after Leona was going to help her. Emmalee's heart was broken, and yours will break for her as she suffers yet another loss in her life.
You will fall in love with Emmalee, feel her pain, and want to hug her and take care of her. You will want to take her away from all of this.
THE FUNERAL DRESS is about loving someone and wanting to remember them the best way you can. It is about caring for others even if they aren't family. It is about the bond women have for each other. Every part of THE FUNERAL DRESS is simply lovely even though it is sad.
Ms. Gilmore's writing style is easy and beautiful. You will be right there with the characters enjoying their time together as well as being there as they help each other through unhappy times.
This is the first book I have read by this author. It left me with a deep sentiment about the unspoken bonds women have and also with a better understanding of the plight of many women right in our midst.
THE FUNERAL DRESS will leave you with a lingering warmth and concern for the characters as you close the cover. Make sure THE FUNERAL DRESS is part of your "must read" list. 5/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
September 25, 2013
I will admit to a bit of hesitancy when picking up The Funeral Dress by Susan Gregg Gilmore. Why? Because I did not have a good experience with Gilmore's previous works and was worried that this one would be the final nail on the coffin for me. Thankfully, I was wrong. Instead of turning me off, Gilmore did something incredible with this story of Emmalee - she tugged at my heartstrings and wrote a story that I just couldn't figure out an ending to - but when I read her ending, it fit well. So, essentially, she wrote something that I totally did not see coming.
Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife.
Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife.
May 13, 2014
A deceptively simple, well-researched book about the women of Southern Appalachia who worked in factories sewing dresses and shirts. It interweaves themes of rural poverty, working women and class distinctions plus a deep sense of community.
March 3, 2014
Author Susan Gregg Gilmore has done an excellent job of blending the good and the bad, the beauty and the ugliness of Appalachia mountain living. The valleys and hills of the fictional community of Cullen, Tennessee provide a spectacular piece of nature as a background to a story that is both cruel and uplifting. The love and nurture of a small Southern town are heartwarming to observe, but the judgmental and gossipy backlash are strikes to break any lingering hope for something better in a down-and-out existence of poverty. Little is taken for granted in this hard-working community, and trust is something not easily earned.
As a young girl, Emmalee Bullard lost her mother to cancer, and she was left with a father who was neglectful to say the most, uncaring and cruel to be more accurate. They lived in a ramshackle dwelling that was covered in tar paper and plywood, with no running water, and little to eat in the holler called Red Chert. Emmalee's father, Nolan, worked odd jobs, but he refused any charity or help, even to the detriment of his daughter's well-being. Quitting school at sixteen, Emmalee had landed a job at the Tennewa Shirt Factory, learning to sew collars from Leona Lane, a long-time Tennewa employee who was to become more than a co-worker to Emmalee. After three years working at the factory, Emmalee found herself having a baby with no father to take responsibility. Emmalee's life at her father's house had gone from hard to impossible, and Leona was set to give Emmalee the break that she had always needed in life. But, before the plan for Emmalee to go live with Leona and her husband up on top of the mountain, the very day before, tragedy strikes in a manner that could only be considered fate at its most cruel. Emmalee must find the strength to survive the blow of Leona's death, and fight for a life for her baby girl and herself. Before anything else can be addressed though, Emmalee is determined, against opposition from those who consider her a sinner, to sew a funeral dress befitting the love that Leona had shown her. A battle is on for Emmalee's future and the future of her baby, and Emmalee must dig deep inside herself for strength that she hopes she possesses.
Gilmore does a great job at letting her readers discover who the characters are and how they got there by providing chapters occurring in earlier years and times. We are reminded that people don't usually start out hard and cold, but that life's circumstances often force them to turn off the need and use of a warm heart and gentle touch. The setting in this book is perfect for contrasting the light and dark of life, how something or someone can be both good and bad, and how hard it is to let love triumph over hardship and disappointment.
As a young girl, Emmalee Bullard lost her mother to cancer, and she was left with a father who was neglectful to say the most, uncaring and cruel to be more accurate. They lived in a ramshackle dwelling that was covered in tar paper and plywood, with no running water, and little to eat in the holler called Red Chert. Emmalee's father, Nolan, worked odd jobs, but he refused any charity or help, even to the detriment of his daughter's well-being. Quitting school at sixteen, Emmalee had landed a job at the Tennewa Shirt Factory, learning to sew collars from Leona Lane, a long-time Tennewa employee who was to become more than a co-worker to Emmalee. After three years working at the factory, Emmalee found herself having a baby with no father to take responsibility. Emmalee's life at her father's house had gone from hard to impossible, and Leona was set to give Emmalee the break that she had always needed in life. But, before the plan for Emmalee to go live with Leona and her husband up on top of the mountain, the very day before, tragedy strikes in a manner that could only be considered fate at its most cruel. Emmalee must find the strength to survive the blow of Leona's death, and fight for a life for her baby girl and herself. Before anything else can be addressed though, Emmalee is determined, against opposition from those who consider her a sinner, to sew a funeral dress befitting the love that Leona had shown her. A battle is on for Emmalee's future and the future of her baby, and Emmalee must dig deep inside herself for strength that she hopes she possesses.
Gilmore does a great job at letting her readers discover who the characters are and how they got there by providing chapters occurring in earlier years and times. We are reminded that people don't usually start out hard and cold, but that life's circumstances often force them to turn off the need and use of a warm heart and gentle touch. The setting in this book is perfect for contrasting the light and dark of life, how something or someone can be both good and bad, and how hard it is to let love triumph over hardship and disappointment.
October 23, 2021
Susan Gregg Gilmore is an exquisite writer that pictures of scenes in her book develop in my mind and the character voices are heard in my head. (It wasn't her voice until I read the questionnaire at the end of the book.)
I loved both main characters in this book and wanted to counsel both how to help their situations. I knew how to resolve Emmalee's quandry early on in the book - would the author come to the same conclusion?
Read it yourself to find out. It is truly worth your time.
I loved both main characters in this book and wanted to counsel both how to help their situations. I knew how to resolve Emmalee's quandry early on in the book - would the author come to the same conclusion?
Read it yourself to find out. It is truly worth your time.
August 27, 2013
For some, life during the mid 20th century in the rural south was happy and fulfilling, complete with considerate neighbors, a good job, a supportive church, and a loving family. For others, like Emmalee Bullard, life was a hardscrabble existence, trying to survive from one day to the next any way one could.
Nothing has ever gone right for Emmalee. Born to poor parents, her father was drunk much of the time and her down-trodden mother died of cancer when Emmalee was but a child. Emmalee grew up mostly unloved and uncared for. She leaves school to work in a shirt factory, a pretty, shy girl desperate for friendship and affection. A fellow seamstress, Leona, takes her under her wing, teaching her and befriending her. But Emmalee also attracts the attention of the funeral director’s son, and what she interprets as love is just his idea of fun with no commitment. Emmalee bears his child, and, refusing to name him, now must endure the censor of the more righteous townsfolk alone. Though she tries mightily to care for her infant, she is unsure and unable to cope. Leona, seeing the need, insists that Emmalee and her baby come to stay with her and her husband. Emmalee can’t believe her good fortune, that someone actually wants to care for her, help her, and provide for her. But before this miracle occurs, a tragic accident takes this caring couple, and Emmalee is again left on her own.
Emmalee, heartbroken, wants to do something for her friend, one last thing, and that is to make her a special dress for her funeral. And so she does. But though this novel is entitled Funeral Dress, it is much more than a story about a girl making a burial dress. It’s a story about survival and perseverance. It’s about judgments and prejudices. It’s about family and friends and caring. It’s about pulling together to overcome injustices. The main thrust that ties the ends together may be the overlying theme of a young woman making a special dress as her last show of affection for her friend, but it is much more than that.
This Southern tale of life is teeming with undercurrents of many other story-lines, woven together to create a tapestry of life that you won’t soon forget. Masterfully penned by Susan Gregg Gilmore, these characters come alive on the page, many touching your heart even while others draw your ire. As you come to know Emmalee, you will witness her growth from an unkempt and dirty youngster, fearful and backward, into a woman who can and will stand up for herself and her child and make her own way. An exceptional read.
Nothing has ever gone right for Emmalee. Born to poor parents, her father was drunk much of the time and her down-trodden mother died of cancer when Emmalee was but a child. Emmalee grew up mostly unloved and uncared for. She leaves school to work in a shirt factory, a pretty, shy girl desperate for friendship and affection. A fellow seamstress, Leona, takes her under her wing, teaching her and befriending her. But Emmalee also attracts the attention of the funeral director’s son, and what she interprets as love is just his idea of fun with no commitment. Emmalee bears his child, and, refusing to name him, now must endure the censor of the more righteous townsfolk alone. Though she tries mightily to care for her infant, she is unsure and unable to cope. Leona, seeing the need, insists that Emmalee and her baby come to stay with her and her husband. Emmalee can’t believe her good fortune, that someone actually wants to care for her, help her, and provide for her. But before this miracle occurs, a tragic accident takes this caring couple, and Emmalee is again left on her own.
Emmalee, heartbroken, wants to do something for her friend, one last thing, and that is to make her a special dress for her funeral. And so she does. But though this novel is entitled Funeral Dress, it is much more than a story about a girl making a burial dress. It’s a story about survival and perseverance. It’s about judgments and prejudices. It’s about family and friends and caring. It’s about pulling together to overcome injustices. The main thrust that ties the ends together may be the overlying theme of a young woman making a special dress as her last show of affection for her friend, but it is much more than that.
This Southern tale of life is teeming with undercurrents of many other story-lines, woven together to create a tapestry of life that you won’t soon forget. Masterfully penned by Susan Gregg Gilmore, these characters come alive on the page, many touching your heart even while others draw your ire. As you come to know Emmalee, you will witness her growth from an unkempt and dirty youngster, fearful and backward, into a woman who can and will stand up for herself and her child and make her own way. An exceptional read.
October 11, 2013
I loved everything about Gilmore's wonderful new novel,The Funeral Dress. The characters were vivid and so real I found myself looking at strangers and thinking, "that girl looks like Emmalee Bullard, or I bet Leona Lane would dress like that woman."
The plot of The Funeral Dress is compelling - young Emmalee is trapped in Red Chert holler with her deadbeat father until she meets Leona at the sewing factory where they both make collars. When Emmalee has a baby, Leona plans to rescue Emmalee and the baby. Unable to have a child of her own, she prepares a place for them in the simple trailer where she lives with her husband, Curtis. When Leona and Curtis are killed in an accident, Emmalee's hopes for a better life are destroyed.
As a final act of love for Leona, Emmalee sets out to make Leona's burial dress, even though there are many in the town who think the unmarried Emmalee should not design a dress for a Christian woman - or care for a child on her own. Emmalee not only surprises the town with her talents at dress making, she surprises them with her fierce will to raise her daughter, finding unlikely support among an indomitable group of seamstresses and the town’s funeral director.
The characters in The Funeral Dress embody the spirited mountain women of Appalachia. I was so in tune with Emmalee and Leona that I could feel their sorrow and share in their hopes and dreams. I cried with them, laughed with them, and cheered for them!
The plot of The Funeral Dress is compelling - young Emmalee is trapped in Red Chert holler with her deadbeat father until she meets Leona at the sewing factory where they both make collars. When Emmalee has a baby, Leona plans to rescue Emmalee and the baby. Unable to have a child of her own, she prepares a place for them in the simple trailer where she lives with her husband, Curtis. When Leona and Curtis are killed in an accident, Emmalee's hopes for a better life are destroyed.
As a final act of love for Leona, Emmalee sets out to make Leona's burial dress, even though there are many in the town who think the unmarried Emmalee should not design a dress for a Christian woman - or care for a child on her own. Emmalee not only surprises the town with her talents at dress making, she surprises them with her fierce will to raise her daughter, finding unlikely support among an indomitable group of seamstresses and the town’s funeral director.
The characters in The Funeral Dress embody the spirited mountain women of Appalachia. I was so in tune with Emmalee and Leona that I could feel their sorrow and share in their hopes and dreams. I cried with them, laughed with them, and cheered for them!
April 11, 2014
As the story opens, we meet young Emmalee walking into a sewing factory looking for work. She is hired on the spot and put next to the reticent Leona. Leona isn't known for being friendly, but Emmalee finds her way into the woman's good graces somehow.
The story flips forward and backward in time. Within a few years, Emmalee finds herself a single mother. Her father, Nolan, is neglectful and unreliable. Emmalee's mother died when she was a child and Nolan blames Emmalee for her death. When Leona offers Emmalee a way out of the holler, Emmalee begins to see possibilities of a new life. A different life.
But, of course, the unexpected occurs and everything changes.
This has good tension in it and drifts between past and present with fluidity. Life is a small town offers little room to make mistakes, but it also allows for friends to help you pick up the slack when you need a hand.
The story flips forward and backward in time. Within a few years, Emmalee finds herself a single mother. Her father, Nolan, is neglectful and unreliable. Emmalee's mother died when she was a child and Nolan blames Emmalee for her death. When Leona offers Emmalee a way out of the holler, Emmalee begins to see possibilities of a new life. A different life.
But, of course, the unexpected occurs and everything changes.
This has good tension in it and drifts between past and present with fluidity. Life is a small town offers little room to make mistakes, but it also allows for friends to help you pick up the slack when you need a hand.
October 25, 2014
I won this novel from Goodreads FirstReads program and then I bought a copy. I have met Susan Gregg Gilmore at two weekends sponsored by Books on the Nightstand and having read and enjoyed her three novels, this may be my favorite. Emmalee Bullard is a teen, living with her mostly indifferent, fairly abusive father, Nolan in very rural Tennessee. She has left high school and taken a job in a shirt/ dress factory where she is surrounded by women who are all looking to better their lives. As her life becomes harder and more complicated, Emmalee discovers she is not alone and unloved. Susan Gregg Gilmore has written a beautiful novel of the strength of women, their friendships and how family may have nothing to do with your blood relationships.
January 14, 2014
This is more of a 3.5 star read for me. Gilmore does a wonderful job bringing out the desperation in her characters. You can't help but "cheat" and thumb through the end pages to see how things turn out. I loved the strong personalities of both the men and women characters. The story does an excellent job of bringing out the backwoods south. The author is very descriptive with her words painting a very realistic picture of this area and it's people. I have to say I developed a soft spot for the character Mr. Fulton, what a genuine southern gentleman.
October 12, 2024
Heartwarming but sad at times, kept me turning the page.
July 22, 2016
The author did a remarkable job with this book, even if the content made me mad most of the time. What Susan Gregg Gilmore did was give each and every one of these characters a very authentic voice. I might not have liked what they had to say, but authentic they were. There’s Emmalee Bullard and her new baby, who are living with Emmalee’s abusive father, somewhere in a holler of rural Tennessee. The other main character is Leona Lane, the older seamstress who sat by Emmalee’s side at the local shirt factory where both women worked as collar makers. Leona wants a better life for Emmalee and invites her to live with her and her husband, Curtis . The turning point arrives when Leona and Curtis die in a terrible car accident. From there on, Emmalee will have to find her own strength to improve her circumstances in life.
Although I was very touched by this book and the way these ordinary people were depicted, I could not help myself to get a tad riled at the injustice of Emmalee’s situation. I couldn’t imagine that even in this current age, some people think they can steal a baby away from their mother, just because she’s poor? That shocked me. Still I think the author wouldn’t be writing about it if it weren’t true. ***3,75*** stars.
Although I was very touched by this book and the way these ordinary people were depicted, I could not help myself to get a tad riled at the injustice of Emmalee’s situation. I couldn’t imagine that even in this current age, some people think they can steal a baby away from their mother, just because she’s poor? That shocked me. Still I think the author wouldn’t be writing about it if it weren’t true. ***3,75*** stars.
November 6, 2014
Such a sweet little story! I only gave it 4 stars because it was a tad predictable and I need more suspense, usually, to keep me intrigued. But this book was great! It was chosen by my local book club, and at first I was optimistic about the genre and writing style...
That lasted for the first chapter, then boys it got good!
When you're done, though, I feel that every sensory in your emotional brain bank has been touched. In this story you'll read about a very poor girl who's first time having sex gives her a daughter. This young girl lives in poverty so deep, you'll be forever thankful for what little you think you have. You'll meet an old lady who no matter how poor she is as well, wants to help the young girl...
Then you'll get angry, sad, worried, anxious, and startled reading every chapter of events to follow. You will be on the edge of your seat and you will not put this book down!
You'll love, you'll admire. You'll resent and you'll hate. Worth the read! I'm super glad I gave this book a chance :)
That lasted for the first chapter, then boys it got good!
When you're done, though, I feel that every sensory in your emotional brain bank has been touched. In this story you'll read about a very poor girl who's first time having sex gives her a daughter. This young girl lives in poverty so deep, you'll be forever thankful for what little you think you have. You'll meet an old lady who no matter how poor she is as well, wants to help the young girl...
Then you'll get angry, sad, worried, anxious, and startled reading every chapter of events to follow. You will be on the edge of your seat and you will not put this book down!
You'll love, you'll admire. You'll resent and you'll hate. Worth the read! I'm super glad I gave this book a chance :)
September 3, 2013
If you are a fan of Southern Fiction, this faith based, character driven book will resonate with you. I found it to be a slow starter, but I am glad I kept with it, as it was eventually a lovely, touching story. The story is centered around two women joined by circumstance, whose lives interweave. I found the author's method of telling the story by going back and forth from the present to the past a bit hard to follow, but that's just my taste. Ms. Gregg Gilmore's characters were strong, her dialogue was appropriate to the setting and the characters, her story remained consistent and it did involve my emotions. There are a lot of references to sewing that, as a non-sewer my self, I found extraneous, but they didn't detract from the story.
*I received my copy from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
*I received my copy from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
October 22, 2013
Coming from several generations of sewers, I was eager to see how the lives of rural Tennessee shirt factory seamstresses unfolded. Motherless Emmalee drops out of high school at 16 to work in a clothing factory. She's lived in poverty and social isolation her entire short life.
At the factory, she sits next to middle-aged Leona who takes Emmalee under her wing. Leona's unexpected death 3 years later at a critical juncture in Emmalee's life sets up the crisis for this small community. As she determines to sew the dress Leona will be buried in, support arises from unexpected sources to sustain Emmalee.
The charm of this book likes in the setting and the characters. Gilmore shows us beauty in the most ordinary people and why someone would want to live in the rural TN mountains.
At the factory, she sits next to middle-aged Leona who takes Emmalee under her wing. Leona's unexpected death 3 years later at a critical juncture in Emmalee's life sets up the crisis for this small community. As she determines to sew the dress Leona will be buried in, support arises from unexpected sources to sustain Emmalee.
The charm of this book likes in the setting and the characters. Gilmore shows us beauty in the most ordinary people and why someone would want to live in the rural TN mountains.
May 6, 2015
My kind of book, full of heart, description, endearing with snippets of good homegrown common sense. What I especially liked about this book were the women and one man in particular who rallied around this young mother who never had anyone who cared for her. I identified so much with Emmalee because I was an unwed mother who felt all alone with no one who truly felt I could manage to raise my daughter. How important it is to have people believing and supporting you when you have doubts in yourself and your future. Emmalee discovered a group of women who believed in her and wanted to help her in getting a start for herself and her baby. The reality was just right without being too stark and the sentimentality was spot on without being too sweet. Truly a beautiful book.
December 23, 2013
Southern writing at it's best. Fans of Lee Smith, Cassandra King will appreciate the despair and humor featured in The Funeral Dress. I feel like I know some of these characters. I especially like how Gilmore used the setting of the sewing factory to create another family setting to showcase in her novel, and to show your family by blood is not always the best or only place for you. The camaraderie of southern women is strong and Susan Gregg Gilmore makes it shine.
provided by publisher
provided by publisher
October 23, 2013
This book takes place in the time it takes for someone to die and the funeral. There are alternating chapters that take the reader back into Lenoa Lane's story. The present is told through the voice of Emmalee, who is a teenage mother with a hardscrabble life. She decides to honor her friend Lenoa by making her a funeral dress, or what my characters in Appalachia would call a burying dress. Beautiful story about strong but flawed women. Love this book and I highly recommend.
September 30, 2013
A lovely, quick read about two women in rural Tennessee who form an unlikely friendship at the Tenewaha Shirt Factory in the 1960's. I loved the descriptions of the characters and the southern touches scattered throughout the book. The comfort of southern food, friendship, and religion are scattered throughout.
January 30, 2015
I liked how this showed a simple life, a simple girl, a simple time, with a complex set of high morals and standards. I loved how she honored her friend Quick read. And yes I liked it even tho there was 'sewing' involved!! ( me who doesn't own one of those shiny pointy things)
November 27, 2021
3.5 stars. The Funeral Dress takes us deep into the Southern Appalachians of Tennessee, in the fictional town of Cullen. We meet Emmalee Bullard~ a quiet teen who seeks employment at the Tenewa Shirt Factory. Emmalee has not had a good upbringing, and feels that getting a job will start her on the right foot. At the shirt factory, she is paired with Leona Lane, who teaches her how to make her quota (and more) as a collar maker. Over the next three years, the two form a strong bond as Leona becomes a mother figure to Emmalee. When Emmalee has a baby, Leona makes the decision to have her and Kelly Faye (the baby) to come live with her and her husband. She has prepared a room, blankets, and clothing in anticipation of their arrival.
However, disaster strikes and Emmalee is left without her support system. She takes on the task of making a funeral dress for Leona. In the days leading up to the funeral, some of the women from the factory come together as a community and allow Emmalee to believe that she is capable of raising this baby. Throughout this time, the story takes us into the earlier days of Leona. We come to know Leona and the path her life had taken. Conflict of course ensues, but Emmalee is determined to succeed.
While there were many touching and sweet moments in the book, I felt like most of the characters lacked development. The conflict seemed to go in circles without any real attempt at coming to a resolution.
Gilmore shares some of the reasons that she wrote the book and what aspects of her research leant to certain characters and the overall theme.
However, disaster strikes and Emmalee is left without her support system. She takes on the task of making a funeral dress for Leona. In the days leading up to the funeral, some of the women from the factory come together as a community and allow Emmalee to believe that she is capable of raising this baby. Throughout this time, the story takes us into the earlier days of Leona. We come to know Leona and the path her life had taken. Conflict of course ensues, but Emmalee is determined to succeed.
While there were many touching and sweet moments in the book, I felt like most of the characters lacked development. The conflict seemed to go in circles without any real attempt at coming to a resolution.
Gilmore shares some of the reasons that she wrote the book and what aspects of her research leant to certain characters and the overall theme.
June 11, 2018
2.5 stars. This wasn't my favorite. I liked the sense of community of the ladies working in the factory. How they looked out for each other, had each other's backs but also called the other ladies out when they stepped out of line. I liked how the women stepped up to help Emmalee and I felt like her story was real & well told. I didn't love any of the characters & thought some of the situations were really contrived.
Content: lots of mild swearing, a little violence, mentions of sex but not detailed
Content: lots of mild swearing, a little violence, mentions of sex but not detailed
October 10, 2024
Took a bit to understand the narrative pattern and time shifts, but a rich and tender read. I wish them well.
August 19, 2023
A good, quick read.
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