I was completely engaged with this book and the memorable character of Ella Mae Wiggins from the first page. It is all the more powerful because it is based on a real person who worked at the Loray Mills in Gastonia, NC in 1929. It is difficult for us to comprehend the conditions under which the mill workers lived and worked without this eye-opening account.
A pregnant Ella Mae had the courage and conviction to advocate for unions despite the dangers it posed to her and her family. This family and the other mill workers truly defined the term "hardscrabble existence," especially after her seemingly worthless husband left them, and she endured the heartbreak of losing a child through a preventable illness if she'd had the means to provide adequate medical care.
Wiley Cash is a consummate story teller. It is impossible to read any of his noteworthy novels without being impressed by his ability to bring the characters and their environment to life.
My thanks to Goodreads and William Morrow for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.
A pregnant Ella Mae had the courage and conviction to advocate for unions despite the dangers it posed to her and her family. This family and the other mill workers truly defined the term "hardscrabble existence," especially after her seemingly worthless husband left them, and she endured the heartbreak of losing a child through a preventable illness if she'd had the means to provide adequate medical care.
Wiley Cash is a consummate story teller. It is impossible to read any of his noteworthy novels without being impressed by his ability to bring the characters and their environment to life.
My thanks to Goodreads and William Morrow for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.
