Appalachian Song by Michelle ShockleeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this dual timeline (1943/1973) book with midwives and music at its core. In 1943, a young girl who calls herself Songbird shows up in the yard of a midwife who lives with her four sisters, wounded in the shoulder by her father, because she won't drink a potion to abort her baby. Although hiding and caring for Songbird could bring danger to the sisters, they decide to do it. For four months, she stays there, endears herself to even the dissenting sister, and gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. When her father shows up a few weeks later, wanting to sell the child, Songbird and Bertie (the midwife sister) take off from their home in the back woods of Sevier county (Smoky Mountains, TN) and with the help of a pair of pastors, take the child to Nashville, where he is adopted by a loving couple. I will stop here and not share the 1973 plotline, but it's well worth your time to read it yourself.
I definitely plan to seek out more of her work.
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