This is a book that I read several years ago. I will give this book 5 stars as I will never forget it and continue to recommend it and loan my personal copy to friends. A story of extreme hardship and survival. If you think you have problems, read this book and you will count your blessings.

A story of the hardships involved in making a young couples marriage in appalachia work, at the turn of the century. Loved the ending, hated the trials to get there. Robert Morgan's captures the world through the eyes of adolescent girl and her trials in being a women in appalachia. Robert gives such apt discriptions of their world, you are transported back in time. What I find interesting is how he takes characters you do not like at first, and by the end are cheering for.

This is a story of a newly married couple who set out to make a home for themselves in the mountains of Appalachia. After reading this book I don't think I can ever complain again about having too much work to do. What the young woman of the story had to do daily just to survive, put me in my place.

I loved this book. I selected it to read because my public library's website said that if you liked "These is My Words", you would like this one. However, between requesting it from there and starting it, I read some Goodreads reviews and thought, ugh, I picked a bummer. Not so! In that light, I want to address some of the negatives I read on this site from other readers.

This book is, indeed, written by a man. And it is told from a young woman's perspective. But I found the author to be extremely insightful, and I'm sure if he had used a woman's penname I would never have guessed his gender. Not only does he grasp what it is to be a woman, he has the naïveté of what it is to be a newlywed, young woman, down pat. He also understands how women perceive men, and how the actions of a husband affect a wife. And he showed insight into how one grows in the beginning of marriage. So, as far as I am concerned, the author's gender is not a problem.

Another issue I noticed in several reviews is that some readers feel this book is depressing. Now this is going to sound harsh, but it's how I feel. Either they are reading from an unsophisticated, naive or very young perspective, or they read the Cliffs Notes version and didn't get everything out of it they should have. Yes, the main character in this novel faces some terrible times. That's life, and it was certainly how life was during the 19th century for the average working person in the mountains of America. People on farms then, and similarly now, dealt with death on sometimes a daily basis, at least in some form. And at that time, illness was terrible and people died from things that don't kill normally healthy people now. What apparently was lost on these readers is the strength and perseverance of the main character, Julie. Julie is a powerhouse of courage and hope. She gets handed lemons in life, and she makes lemonade every time, even when she doesn't feel like it. She delights in the small joys of life - such as the blueness of the summer sky and frost on morning grass, and birds in the trees. When she reaches that point that a trial is over, she feels cleansed or strengthened. And no matter what happens or how bad things get, she never gives up, and always clings to hope - whether for herself or for someone she loves. And the book ends with that very sentiment - hope.

The last of the concerns expressed by other readers I want to address was the graphic details of some of the events, such as a hog killing and butchering. I did not feel it was indulgent. It was graphic, but why wouldn't it be? I'm not sure hog butchering is something you can effectively sugarcoat. And I doubt that the average reader would grasp what a chore it is for a woman to help with hog killing and butchering without some details. Like other events in the book, it's explained in a manner that makes the reader understand it, and in a way that I think a woman who had to go through it might actually explain it.

I'll wrap up by saying one of the things I loved about this book is that it is not terribly romantic, at least in the traditional sense. I don't like books (or movies for that matter) that are fluff. Real life is about people hanging onto each other and relationships through what is described in wedding vows - for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. Julie falls in love with her husband just like so many women do. He is physically attractive to her, he appears to be strong in character, and he appears to be ready to do anything in the world to make her happy. But when he disappoints her, and when life is rough, and that "sickness" and "worse" come into play, they learn how to hang onto each other, and how to make a life together - in spite of differences and difficulties. If you need fluff to make you happy, this book is not for you.

Although this book was unrelentingly sad, the characters were wonderful. I loved the way Julie and her husband, Hank, developed through the story. Julie was so wise for her age and knew just how to handle conflict with her husband. Hank changed from an impulsive, willful man to a kind and gentle father and husband. When I read about what it took to do laundry at the turn of the century, I certainly appreciated my washer and dryer. The account of slaughtering the hog also made me appreciate being able to open my refrigerator and take out some bacon slices. Living was so hard back then, especially in Appalachia.

I thought this one started strong but ended weak. The subtitle is "The Story of a Marriage," but I don't find that accurate, since the story doesn't follow the marriage through--we only get a glimpse at the very beginnings of a marriage. I expected, based on the title, to get the whole story, and I feel a bit jipped. Also, the further along I got, the more I skimmed because I started getting bored. Overall, though, I enjoyed the story, and I think MOrgan accurately portrays the Appalachian lifestyle at the turn of the century, and I am always interested in stories that capture what life was like there then. I also appreciate the depiction of a strong female character.

This gentle book tells the story of Julie, as she navigates the death of her brother and father and the first year or so of her marriage to Hank, lived in the valley of Gap Creek, South Carolina as the 19th century comes to a close. Julie and Hank are young and poor. They struggle and grow together through challenging events. The story is told by Julie, who begins the book as a physically strong youth whose attitude is that, if it needs to be done, you just get on with it. The tone feels authentic and I felt like I struggled with poor Julie as she tries to figure out her place in the world. I loved the way color was used in the novel to describe emotional events. I also loved reading an honest narrator.

If the purpose of the story was to leave you feeling cold, miserable and wanting a bath then it achieved its aim. Julie and Hank were so mismatched and don’t get me started on those weird sex scenes, god knows where Robert Morgan went to research those. It might have scraped 3 stars if it weren’t for the graphic butchering descriptions

I picked up a nice copy of this book from my library book sale for 10 cents awhile back. I decided to read it this week as my final book for the Southern Literature Challenge because it won the Southern Book Critic Circle Award.

However, it is also an Oprah book. Next time I pick up an Oprah book, somebody please just slap me. This book is more depressing than a sunless day in January. How depressing? Read on...

***Spoilers***

Set in 1899, the book opens with 17-year old protagonist Julie Harmon describing the gruesome death of her younger brother. That's followed with the death of her father. Then she marries Hank, whom she has known for all of a few days. They move down from the mountains of North Carolina to the Appalachian valley over the border in South Carolina. Julie takes care of a nasty old widower in exchange for free rent while Hank works in town making bricks.

We get a lot of detail into their tough and rugged lives, including an in-depth look into the slaughtering of a hog. Julie burns down the kitchen, the widower dies, they are swindled out of every dime they own, Hank smacks Julie around and loses his job, they loose what little they have left in a flood, Julie gives birth to a premature baby that subsequently dies, and then they get tossed out of the house.

And that's the end.

I'm only giving it two stars instead of one because I liked this passage:

The good Lord made the world so we could earn our joy, Ma said. But it's no guarantee we'll ever be happy.

I agree with the concept that we have to work hard to earn joy and happiness in life. And sometimes I think happiness is a decision. However, I know that life can be difficult and even brutal. I just would have appreciated a little more sunshine in this book.

Forgot to update as I was reading this. A very compelling book, loved the determination through out. Is there a follow up to this book? My first book by this author, would love to read more by him.

This book tells the story of Julie whose indomitable spirit is challenged repeatedly. I loved the simplicity of the prose and the story and was invested immediately. Great writing and a great story.

Spoilers ahead

Gap Creek by Robert Morgan was also a free friday book and it was an Oprah Book of the Month book as well. Oprah, you did not pick a winner here. The story is about the first year of marriage between a young couple in 1900 South Carolina. It started out strong, with Julie being an unusually hard working and dedicated woman, and that doesn’t change. But at some point she totally stops standing up for herself. At one point of the story she gets conned and when her husband finds out he slaps her in the face and calls her a “stupid heifer” and what does she do? NOTHING!! If i was her i would slapped him right back and walked out the door. And the whole rest of the book her husband is temperamental and just about useless. Until the end when he kind of redeems himself (not really) when he takes care of Julie and their sick baby after Julie birthed the baby at home, by herself. And in the end they lose everything the worked for and wind up leaving their home. WTF.