Book description
Linda Sue Preston was born on a feather bed in the upper room of her
Grandma Emmy's log house in the hills of eastern Kentucky. More than
fifty years later, Linda Scott DeRosier has come to believe that you can
take a woman out of Appalachia but you can't take Appalachia out of the
woman. DeRosier's humorous and poignant memoir is the story of an
educated and cultured woman who came of age in Appalachia. She remains
unabashedly honest about and proud of her mountain heritage. Now a
college professor, decades and notions removed from the creeks and
hollows, DeRosier knows that her roots run deep in her memory and
language and in her approach to the world. DeRosier describes an
Appalachia of complexity and beauty rarely seen by outsiders. Hers was a
close-knit world; she says she was probably eleven or twelve years old
before she ever spoke to a stranger. She lovingly remembers the
unscheduled, day-long visits to friends and family, when visitors
cheerfully joined in the day's chores of stringing beans or bedding out
sweet potatoes. No advance planning was needed for such trips. Residents
of Two-Mile Creek were like family, and everyone was
""delighted to see each other wherever, whenever, and for
however long."" Creeker is a story of relationships, the
challenges and consequences of choice, and the impact of the past on the
present. It also recalls one woman's struggle to make and keep a sense
of self while remaining loyal to the people and traditions that
sustained her along life's way. Told with wit, candor, and zest, this is
Linda Scott DeRosier's answer to the question familiar in
Appalachia--""Who are your people?""
