Sunday, May 2, 2010

A Story Of Hope She-Rain - Michael Cogdill

Southern lit. at its FINEST!!




This was such an awesome story. The characters, the details, the language were all written soooo beautifully.  The story line kept moving, never got boring, there was always something happening.
The title She-Rain: A Story of Hope is explained by Granny:

"In the rise of crickets and peep frogs, Granny spread out her mountain mystic view of things again, and the whole wagon treated it as scared for a moment. She'd often speak of how a littl scrap of fog tears from a rain cloud. Floats on the waves of blue ridge as if a wisp off a bride.  Granny and others called it she-rain. I suppose for the womanly drape, white as wedding gown. Common legen, though Granny took the vision further. Said she-rain was like us all..."
She what I mean about the details? I can see it in my mind, what a gorgeous scene!
Frank Lock has a hard life with a drug addicted daddy, beating up on his Ma. He won't ever call him daddy, he says this about him : "Don't call him  that. I'll not have that dung-mound called my daddy or pa or nothin' like it. No more."

One day something terrible happens and to save his Ma he has to run away. After  days of running, he decides to jump on a train to get away from the town. When he does, he miscalculates and must jump. 

Almost drowning, someone saves him. She brings him to her home and they come to share their lives, their dreams. He finds out things no one ever knew and learns what love is all about.

I can't say enough how much I loved this story and I hope one day they will make a movie because it is THAT GOOD!!

From the back of the book:

In the early 20th Century, a pair of North Carolina mountain children sow the seed of a love that becomes their only solace in the hard yet beautiful world they know. They grow it from steep ground of poverty, ignorance, and violence. A landscape so brutal it can kill hope long before claiming life.

Bloodshed years later finally sends Frank Locke on the run, deep into wilderness, abandoning his extraordinary love, Mary Lizbeth. When a whitewater river washes this desperate soul into the hands of Sophia, he discovers a luminous woman steeped in mystery, trapped in a tragically brilliant life. Far ahead of her time. Secreted from the world. As she awakens Frank's mind, they rise to meet a love that binds three people for a lifetime.

This love triangle forms a beauty no one sees coming. From the wilds of Appalachia, crossing nearly a century, it runs deep into a lush American fortune, and lives in letters of adoration and hope of the least expected.

In a rhapsody of Southern voices, mingling hilarity and sorrow, She-Rain speaks of lives soaring beyond heartbreak, fundamentalism, and self-destruction. Through the most graceful longing, two women in love with one man ultimately prove the power of human hearts to answer high callings. They show us all how to heal -- and thrive -- to the very end.

About the author Michael Cogdill - Something that amazed me was he spent 10 years writing this book! 

Michael Cogdill is blessed as one of the most honored television storytellers in America. His cache of awards includes 24 Emmys and the National Edward R. Murrow for a broad range of achievement, from live reporting to long-form storytelling. His television credits as a journalist include CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and The Today Show, and Michael's interview history crosses a wide horizon: The Reverend Billy Graham, Dr. Mehmet Oz of Oprah fame, Dr. Henry Kissinger, Abby Hoffman, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator John McCain, Howard K. Smith, James Brown, Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops and many other newsmakers. His coverage credits include Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States.

Michael spent ten years writing She-Rain, letting it evolve into a world of fiction drawn from his upbringing in Western North Carolina but reaching far beyond. His other writing credits are Cracker the Crab and the Sideways Afternoon -- a children's motivational book, and a self-help volume, Raise the Haze. Michael makes his home in South Carolina with his wife, Jill (a publishing entrepreneur), and their second-generation golden retriever, Maggie. He's currently working on his second novel.

For more information, please visit http://she-rain.blogspot.com.


   

7 comments:

Julie P said...

Sounds like a good read. Might just have to add this to my SUPER LONG tbr list! Thanks for sharing

Suko said...

It sounds as if you really enjoyed this book. I have heard many good things about it. :)

Ruperto Prieto said...

hi natalie! it really sounds like a good read. i'll try and get a copy of it! GOD bless!

Natalie W said...

Thanks so much everyone. I call this book a "comfort book". It was something I could curl up on the couch with and immerse myself into.

Unknown said...

Natalie, thank you for so generous a review. I'm in awe of your kindness -- so rewarded by the joy you drew from She-Rain. I hope it creates a fun and meaningful afterglow for you and everyone who roams its world!

Warmest tidings,
Michael Cogdill
Author of She-Rain

Anonymous said...

That's quite an endorsement! And I love it when the authors stop by :) Make me much more likely to pick up the book.

Alice said...

This is another great review of She-Rain. I'll put this in my wish list. Thanks, Natalie!