Go Back with Me
Description
Magdalene Snow is a bitter, middle-aged women. When riled, she is thought to likely shoot her rifle at animals and people alike. She leads a solitary life and wants nothing more than to be left alone in her self-imposed exile. She speaks to no one and scorns any overtures from local residents who come too near her small cabin. She came to Birch Mountain to escape an abusive husband and her only desire is for security and solitude. However, what she finds is something quite different. A small child named, Blue, determines to enter into Maggie's world with, or without, an invitation. She is persistent and fearless in her maneuvers to get acquainted with any newcomers. In the beginning Maggie determinedly resists the overtures of the troublesome little girl, but over time she is won over and discovers a joyous life which she never knew existed. She gradually finds great peace and acceptance in dwelling on that same mountain for the remainder of her days. In fact, her great desire to be alone when she first arrives on Birch Mountain, comes to pass only after she has grown old. Due to progress, the people of her world have either moved away, or passed away. In the late 1940's the community in the foothills called Fancy Knoll, ceases to be, and Maggie alone remains. As a tribute to Blue, she sets her mind to write the stories of the local people who have lived in the area, either as she shared them herself, or as they were told to her. These are the stories of one community and are written to preserve the lives and culture for a future generation. Maggie's tales are the stories of the people of Fancy Knoll.
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This book is a collection of simple stories written in the vernacular of the Appalachian region during the late 1930's and the early 1940's. Although written as fiction, every chapter has a person or event reminiscent of the author's own life. The author was raised in West Virginia and now, as a widow, she lives a quiet life in Idaho near four of her six children. The years have taken her many places away from the hills of her home state. She was born with a desire for learning new things, but the fulfillment of that desire came only at fifty years of age--and after the birth of 7 children. She became a nurse and later attended Bible college. In 1998, after a seven year stay in the Philippines as a Baptist missionary, she returned to Indiana for a time before a desire to return to the hills became irresistible. On her return to the Appalachian area she continued to work and live in the same community she grew up in. However, due to her age, and an opportunity for a home in Idaho, she left the area of her childhood for good and settled into, perhaps, her last move. She continues to call West Virginia home, however, and states that her early years in the hills were the most endearing and uncomplicated times of her life, plus a remarkable era to be born into. Her enjoyment of her early years is greatly contributed to the church as being the center of most communities and the sharing of the same values-- if not the same preferences. She states that the memories of those days are like shadows who hide from the sun, trailing her wherever she turns. "I both lived them and sometimes I long for them."
