First published 2004
Hannah Coulter sits in her farmhouse, looking back across decades of life in Port William, Kentucky. She married twice, first to Virgil Feltner who died in World War II, then to Nathan Coulter who helped her rebuild her world. From her kitchen window, she watches the rhythms of rural life that shaped her existence. The small farming community gave her purpose and belonging, but progress threatens to scatter her neighbors and children to distant cities. Hannah sees how modern machinery and economic pressures pull families apart and empty the countryside of its people. She remembers neighbors who knew each other's troubles and joys, who gathered for harvests and funerals. Now she fears this way of life will vanish with her generation. Her story captures the tension between holding on and letting go, between the security of tradition and the pull of change. Hannah's voice carries the weight of someone who has loved deeply and lost much, yet still finds meaning in the simple acts of tending land and caring for community.
Genres: literary-fiction, family-life, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, small-town
Setting: Port William, Kentucky
Period: World War II
190 pages · Paperback · Shoemaker & Hoard