Springheads

by Mary Jo Dyre

Praise for Springheads… Mary Jo Dyre’s Springheads travels through Time. Springs erupt, scattering narrator Sarah and characters – Colin, Miss Sadie, the baby William, his mom Savannah, on and on – in and out of Time. Bodies breathe demonstrably, enlightening each moment. Stories rest and rally, settling contact in “the deep dark pools” of every character’s eyes. This autobiographical novel renders what it means to be a human being lost in Time to be found in someone else’s presence. Sarah, the “I,” tells all for characters like Savannah, the Native American whose life and region is displaced and taken over by mostly white settlers. Seeking a freedom of place may be the main theme of Springheads. Time warps the need to want to know. The effect is to not know, as Sarah ponders feelings of Love for Colin. She literally falls for Colin Stewart, professor in the English Department at UNC-Asheville. And then the Colin goes missing, officially. The singular reality of every moment becomes fact and dream together. Sarah learns that the real treasure springs within herself. — Shelby Stephenson author of More and Shelby’s The Hog Poems among others and former poet laureate of North Carolina from 2015-2018. Springheads will take you to another time and still keep you wrapped in your own heart. Mary Jo Dyre is a master of story who weaves truth and tweaks it with what might be, ingrained with vibrant characters set in a world where all returns to two springheads. Take this book to bed with you, but don’t expect to sleep. - Mary Ricketson , author of I Hear the River Call My Name, Hanging Dog Creek, Shade and Shelter, The Story of Luke and Marian, Keeping in Place, and Lira.

About the Author

A native Mississippian, born into the rural backwoods of Kilmichael, then educated in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, Mary Jo Dyre eventually finds her home in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. Roots and legacy remain the drivers as her heartstrings tug toward rural and the under-served. The sense of possibility in all mankind fuels her work as she engages in what her soul came to do.

223 pages, Paperback

Published June 13, 2023

Reviews

[Patrick Wikstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure requires me to start by saying that Mary Jo is a long time friend of our family who was instrumental in helping to create alternative educational options for young people in our rural mountain community. I both like and respect her. Her book Springheads is interesting on a couple of different fronts. She speaks knowledgeably about the hills and coves and bends in the streams that are such a powerful constant in the lives of those of us who live there. What’s cool is Mary Jo finds a way to time travel her principal protagonists back a hundred years into the same locations and juxtopose both the differences and the similarities in the folks who people these mountains. Especially near the end I found myself rooting for a particular outcome and it kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. Pretty good stuff and I love the cover art by our friend Pam. 4****