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Cropper
Everyone knows a single man can’t raise a baby on his own. At least in the Deep South in 1923 they did. But Caleb Muldrow has a history of being hard-headed, and he has a promise to keep.
On the night before their daughter is born, Caleb and his wife, Nancy, exchange promises to raise the child themselves if something should ever happen to either of them. It doesn’t seem like a big thing until Nancy dies giving birth. An illiterate sharecropper with no money, no family, and no prospects, Caleb’s first instinct is to bow to social pressures and give the baby up to his parents-in-law. But a promise is a promise, and their baby girl, Mae, is the only link he has to Nancy.
With a lot of faith, a little luck, and plenty of help from his neighbors, Caleb starts out on a journey of love and necessity. Tragedy, poverty, and class prejudice all conspire to hold him down, but he’s determined to honor the last promise he made to his wife. He does what he has to, including learning to read and staying single to prevent distractions from Mae, to give his daughter a life with choices he and Nancy could never have hoped for. Without realizing it, he grows up, too, as he struggles to make himself into a man Mae can be proud to call her father.
Caleb’s ultimate goal is to see Mae graduate from high school and choose her own direction when she steps out into the world. But choices bring conflict, and he’s not prepared to deal with some of the options she decides to consider.
After all the struggles of raising a child, success can be the scariest thing of all.
On the night before their daughter is born, Caleb and his wife, Nancy, exchange promises to raise the child themselves if something should ever happen to either of them. It doesn’t seem like a big thing until Nancy dies giving birth. An illiterate sharecropper with no money, no family, and no prospects, Caleb’s first instinct is to bow to social pressures and give the baby up to his parents-in-law. But a promise is a promise, and their baby girl, Mae, is the only link he has to Nancy.
With a lot of faith, a little luck, and plenty of help from his neighbors, Caleb starts out on a journey of love and necessity. Tragedy, poverty, and class prejudice all conspire to hold him down, but he’s determined to honor the last promise he made to his wife. He does what he has to, including learning to read and staying single to prevent distractions from Mae, to give his daughter a life with choices he and Nancy could never have hoped for. Without realizing it, he grows up, too, as he struggles to make himself into a man Mae can be proud to call her father.
Caleb’s ultimate goal is to see Mae graduate from high school and choose her own direction when she steps out into the world. But choices bring conflict, and he’s not prepared to deal with some of the options she decides to consider.
After all the struggles of raising a child, success can be the scariest thing of all.
429 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 16, 2015
7 people want to read
About the author
Roy Jeffords
2 books54 followersSomewhere in his early thirties, Roy decided he should do something to justify the money his parents and the scholarship committee spent on his English degree. Writing a short story seemed appropriate, so he wrote "Ozymandias". It won an award, so he wrote another one. That one didn't win anything, but it was published, and he wrote more of them. One morning he woke up and realized he'd finally figured out what he wants to do when he grows up. He's been writing ever since.
Roy grew up in the South Carolina swamps and graduated from The Citadel, located in Charleston SC. He and his wife, Rachel, currently live in the Dallas, TX area. Rachel hopes that, in addition to keeping him out of her hair, Roy's writing habit will one day earn enough money for them to retire to the Carolina coast.
In addition to his day job, Roy is working on his third novel and ghost writing a nonfiction project.
Roy grew up in the South Carolina swamps and graduated from The Citadel, located in Charleston SC. He and his wife, Rachel, currently live in the Dallas, TX area. Rachel hopes that, in addition to keeping him out of her hair, Roy's writing habit will one day earn enough money for them to retire to the Carolina coast.
In addition to his day job, Roy is working on his third novel and ghost writing a nonfiction project.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 14, 2015
Fantastic Read!!!
I loved this book! I have to admit I have a bias, I know the author personally, he has been a family friend for a long time. I have to say I have been unfair to my friend and put off reading it because I didn't want to be disappointed. I should've known better, I read his blog and know that he's a talented writer. This book will grab you from the beginning and you won't want to put it down. I can't wait to read the sequel, which he is working on now. If you want to get a glimpse of southern life in South Carolina through the eyes of a sharecropper during the early 1900s this is a great way to get it. It's more than that though, this is a story about life that could be set in any genre or generation and it would still grab you and leave you wanting another chapter. The only thing that disappointed me about this book was that it ended.
I loved this book! I have to admit I have a bias, I know the author personally, he has been a family friend for a long time. I have to say I have been unfair to my friend and put off reading it because I didn't want to be disappointed. I should've known better, I read his blog and know that he's a talented writer. This book will grab you from the beginning and you won't want to put it down. I can't wait to read the sequel, which he is working on now. If you want to get a glimpse of southern life in South Carolina through the eyes of a sharecropper during the early 1900s this is a great way to get it. It's more than that though, this is a story about life that could be set in any genre or generation and it would still grab you and leave you wanting another chapter. The only thing that disappointed me about this book was that it ended.
August 8, 2015
I loved reading "Cropper"! The book drew me in right from page one. A real life situation set in the South in the early 1900s. Jeffords does a beautiful job of taking the reader to a time and place and yet makes you feel at home there. The story flows well even though it has a few surprising twists and turns to keep you wanting to see what happens next. I did not rush through this book, I savored it.
Reading a few chapters a day, I allowed myself time to get to know the characters and understand the struggles they faced. A wonderful read.
Reading a few chapters a day, I allowed myself time to get to know the characters and understand the struggles they faced. A wonderful read.
May 24, 2015
Heartwarming
Great characters with real life problems in a more innocent time. I read part of Cropper as it was written and knew it would be good. More than met my expectations.
Great characters with real life problems in a more innocent time. I read part of Cropper as it was written and knew it would be good. More than met my expectations.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews