In Memory of Glenda (of the Woods family)
And a Fannin County hairdresser offers a message of healing.
Six weeks ago I released The Woods of Fannin County, a novel based on a true story about eight children who spent four years mostly alone in a shack in the Blue Ridge mountains. The book is the story of how they survived and how they processed what happened to them.
One month later, on Sept. 20, the oldest girl, Glenda, died at the age of 85. She lived in Texas. Because she had been diagnosed with cancer and was doing poorly, we had rushed to get the book out while she was living. So that was accomplished. I offer my gratitude to Glenda for entrusting her memories to me and my condolences to the entire family.
I thought you might like to see this photograph of a shack that Anne S. Williams sent me. It reminded her of the one the children inhabited except that it’s in the coastal plains. Anne gave me permission to share the image with you.
Yesterday I spoke to another of the sisters at length. I check in with her when I can because when she first read the book, she couldn’t sleep for three days. It wasn’t that the stories were new. The stories were familiar—she had lived them and she had heard her siblings tell them—but having them come alive in print was different. I felt really badly about that. I tell her that we still can edit out anything that is too hard. She reassured me yesterday that she is okay and that this is a story that needs to be told, even when it’s difficult.
Yesterday she revealed another sweet memory that I’ll add to the book sometime. When she was on the train coming back to Georgia from Michigan, she looked out the window and saw fields of wildflowers. She wanted off, so she could pick flowers, and she started to cry because they wouldn’t stop the train and let her off. Isn’t that a sweet story?
Some statistics
The Woods of Fannin County is an experiment. It’s my debut fiction, for one thing. And I’m using a different “marketing plan” to promote it—no book tour, for example. I’m counting on the power of the story, written as well as I can manage, and word of mouth to spread the book.
As of today, here’s the report from Goodreads—80 ratings averaging 4.64 out of 5, with 15 written reviews. Thank you all.
Here’s the report from Amazon—129 ratings averaging 4.7 out of 5, with 50 written reviews. Thank you all.
I have read every review, which is unusual. I wanted to share one in particular. It was posted by Jeanne Malmgren, who once worked as a reporter for the St. Pete Times. Many years ago she was sent on assignment to my farm to write a feature about my first book, Ecology. I spent at least a day with her, and she wrote a beautiful piece. She later left journalism to work in another field but social media allowed us to reconnect. Here’s Jeanne’s review:
If you're like me -- and like most other reviewers here -- you'll inhale this book in one long, urgent gulp. Beautifully written (would we expect anything else from Janisse Ray?), impeccably researched, vividly imagined, this is a tale that will haunt you long after you regretfully finish reading the last sentence. I'm a mental health professional, and let me tell you: None of my textbooks or trainings can match the accurate, sensitive portrayal of trauma and its aftermath that Ray presents here. She gives a voice to eight unloved but valiant children, and she makes us care fiercely about them.
On the book’s best day so far, 192 copies sold, and of those, 171 were artifactual and 21 were digital. On its worst day, 4 copies sold and 2 of those were digital.
Thank you all.
In other good news
The book reviewer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Suzanne Van Atten, decided to write a story about the book. I would never have solicited her to do this or sent her a review copy, because the book’s publishing house is also my house, and I told her so. “Times are changing,” she said.
The book has been chosen for their One Book One Community 2023, and I’ll be at their local (Blairsville) bookstore, Book Bound Books, next March.
The book was spotted on the shelf of the Apalachicola Margaret Key Public Library in Apalachicola, Fla., already processed and ready for checkout.
Bookstores currently carrying the book are:
The Book Lady, Savannah, Ga.
G J Ford Book Shop, St. Simons Island
The Bookshelf, Thomasville, Ga.
Eagle Eye Bookshop, Decatur, Ga.
Righton Books, St. Simons Island
Book Bound Books, Blue Ridge, Ga.
I’m getting messages from so many people. Thank you all. This morning Richard’s daughter sent me a message she received via a Fannin County website. I confess that its tone of reconciliation and healing brought tears to my eyes.
I just finished this book tonight on my Kindle. I just want to say this book is the talk of the town at the moment. I am a hairdresser at a salon here in Blue Ridge and I feel like everyone that has come in recently have asked us if we have read it. I'm so glad your dad was able to share his heart breaking childhood with us and most of all that they lived/persevered to tell it. Being a mother I can't understand how she could be so heartless towards her own children, I wanted to curb stomp her myself what a wicked woman. I hate that the community back then didn't do something sooner to help them but I'm glad God sent the right person to get them out of a terrible situation. Because of this book I think a lot of our hearts have been broken over this story and we all just want to hug them and give them the love they so desperately needed as children. May God bless you and your family.
How to get the book
If you don’t yet have it, here are two ways to obtain a copy of The Woods of Fannin County—either from my website or from Amazon.
Currently I’m…
Reading: Scenes turned in by writers in my course and Earth Grief by Stephen Harrod Buhner
Listening to: Rain falling on the tin roof
Thinking about: Sanibel Island and recovery
Smelling: Four o’clocks blooming outside my back door
Watching: A female American redstart (warbler) in the four o’clocks
Cypress Swamp Paddle Invitation
I invite you to embark on a south Georgia cypress swamp adventure during the height of fall's glory. The cypress trees will be as spectacular as you'll ever see them.
Photo by Wesley Hendley.
Here are the details:
It's Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022
at George L. Smith State Park
near Twin City, Georgia (close to Metter)
starting at 10 a.m.
(I’ll be at Shelter #1 by 9 a.m. with coffee and scones.)
We will be kayaking in a glorious blackwater cypress swamp for 3+ hours with guide Wesley Hendley, a seasoned naturalist of swamp & riverine habitats.
Late October is prime time in the wilds of southern Georgia. The cypress lake at George L. Smith State Park is actually a vast millpond populated by water-loving trees. The towering cypress are a vibrant orange this time of year, and the tannic water is still and intensely reflective. Get to George L. Smith early for spectacular landscape, wildlife, and nature photography.
The paddle itself is easy and safe. The water is smooth. Your hardest job will be maneuvering around the buttressed bases of cypress and tupelo trees, pin-balling through the swamp, which is incredibly fun. Single and tandem kayaks are available.
There will be lots of informal talking as we paddle, about cypress-swamp ecology, cypress trees, resident osprey, water snakes, the history of the area, and many other aspects of nature and culture.
Wesley is a cowboy poet, except his horse is a boat. We will make a few stops along our journey so that he can crack us up with recitations from memory of hilarious poems.
Wesley is also an incredible photographer & is always snapping photos; he'll get more than one of you, which he'll share with us in a dropbox. We'll send all photos to you of the trip afterward, in case you want to post to your socials and have for memories.
Then we'll pause our adventures midday to eat a healthy, organic lunch that we'll serve at one of the Park's beautiful picnic shelters, where I’ll offer a short reading.
You will have the opportunity to tour the mill, which looks and acts like a covered bridge. By about 4 you'll be able to get back on the road home.
Wesley will take care of boats, paddles, lifejackets, & all that jazz for you. He'll do a quick lesson on paddling if you're new to it.
Just show up! Bring your camera, your binoculars, your water bottle, and your hat.
These kind of adventures are best experienced with friends and family. Treat someone special or come alone. Join me in a gorgeous cypress swamp for a wild, unforgettable, and spectacularly beautiful experience.
The cost is $250 per person, which includes equipment and boat rentals and lunch. Eight spots are left.
Photo by Wesley Hendley
A last photo
Every year I am reminded of how beautiful is the fall flowering of forbs and grasses. This is a sandhill in southern Georgia.
Have a great weekend. Enjoy the amazements of the earth and other humans.
The book is beautifully written. It is a hard story, I can’t imagine reading it if it were my story. I read it for several hours and then I didn’t sleep that night, which is why I haven’t gotten back to finishing it. I’m glad you were able to tell it.