A story of the lives of three women, tightly woven together and surviving the harsh societal environment of an Appalachian mining town in the early to mid-1900s. Two religions contrast with each other—the Cherokee spirits of the native people and the Old Testament God of the white settlers—as each woman struggles to find her place. Love and hate, marriage and adultery, childbirth and abortion, … all have their parts to play. Beloved Mother accurately portrays the evilness in humanity, in which the wicked corrupt the innocent to create a vicious cycle of abuse, until one person—with a heart of understanding and forgiveness—has the courage to end it.
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Unusual but author is a good writer.
Very hard to follow.
This book left me very depressed
Didn’t really care for the book.
I did not want the book to end. Wonderful, believable characters, easy to read, well-developed storytelling. This is one I recommend highly. I will be reading it again.
A little hard to follow. Ending was abrupt.
At first I enjoyed the book. By about half way, I wondered if it would ever end. Then when it finally did, a very important issue was left unaddressed.
It was a story that made you think about the characters and their choices. Not a happy go lucky story but a story about living the best one knows how to.
Always amazing that words can so skillfully evoke emotions and memories that one doesn’t even know existed. Great job in writing this book!
This is a story that you won’t forget. The characters, mostly unknown to each other, resonate with their own personal agendas. Even when a relationship is discovered, there is no warmth – only revenge. Painful to read at times.
Did not like the ending. It just sort of drifted off.
Loved the characters. Especially the conservation between brother mom and sister sun
I started this but it was so tragic I stopped after a few chapters.
The writing is exquisite. It’s a haunting book that was an interesting read, although not my usual fare.
Hard to believe this could be a true story.
best read in a couple of months
Enjoyed it.
Rather hard to keep up with, but hated to put it down.
Very sad, very depressing but interesting. I haven’t finished it yet, I hope it ends a little more positive.
It made me thankful for my easy life.