Another slice-of-life story from Jim Grimsley, again telling the story of a poor white family in a rural community. This time, the protagonist is Ellen Tote, who overcomes adversity and hardship growing up to become an independent and happy adult. Although it is never explicitely stated, I believe that the main heroine of this story is the same woman who is the mother in the Grimsley novel Winter Birds.

Although her story is compelling, drawing the reader through Ellen's life glimpsed through flashbacks and memories, like many such narratives, there is no real ending, and thus no satisfactory conclusion to the story.

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