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All the Forgivenesses Kindle Edition
Growing up on their hardscrabble farm in rural Kentucky, fifteen-year-old Albertina “Bertie” Winslow has learned a lot from her mama, Polly. She knows how to lance a boil, make a pie crust, butcher a pig, and tend to every chore that needs doing. What she doesn’t know, but is forced to reckon with all too soon, is how to look after children as a mother should . . .
When Polly succumbs to a long illness, Bertie takes on responsibility for her four younger siblings and their dissolute, unreliable daddy. Yet the task is overwhelming. Nine-year-old Dacia, especially, is resentful and stubborn, hinting at secrets in their mama’s life. Finally, Bertie makes the only choice she can—breaking up the family for its own survival, keeping the girls with her, sending the boys off to their grown brothers, long gone from home.
Ever pragmatic, Bertie marries young, grateful to find a husband willing to take on the care of her sisters, and eventually moves to the oil fields of Kansas. But marriage alone cannot resolve her grief and guilt over a long-ago tragedy, or prepare her for the heartaches still to come. Only by confronting wrenching truths can she open herself to joy—and learn how to not only give, but receive, unfettered love.
“This emotional story of deep hardship is told in Bertie’s distinct voice and is recommended for readers who enjoyed Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell, and Jane Hamilton’s Book of Ruth.”
—Library Journal
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherA John Scognamiglio Book
- Publication dateAugust 27, 2019
- File size1648 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A strong protagonist is at the center of Hardinger’s debut, an early-1900s tale of a resolute girl in a Midwestern family that’s burdened with hardship. Bertie Winslow is a responsible, observant child with an emotionally absent mother and an alcoholic father who can only be relied on to cruelly tease his children. At nine years old, Bertie is forced to care for her sisters, baby Opal and 3-year-old Dacia, and by the time Bertie is 11, she also needs to tend to her depressed mother’s new baby twins. Several years later, Bertie’s mother becomes ill and dies, leaving Bertie in charge of four children. Because the family is poor and the father is often away on binges, the struggles Bertie must endure with housework and child rearing are nonstop, constantly testing her emotional fortitude. Bertie finally decides she must marry—she’s fortunate to find a good man—and when they relocate from Missouri to Kansas, her one friend, Alta Bea, follows with her own new husband. The friendship is sometimes awkward, because Alta Bea is a modern thinker, but Bertie continually gains wisdom in all areas of her life. The characters in this story are vividly portrayed, with nuanced, complex personalities. The resilience and strength of the narrator will stay with readers long after they’ve finished. (Sept.)
—Publishers Weekly
“Not since Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone and Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Once Upon a River have I met such an original, strong young woman, full of resourcefulness, passion, and courage, dedicated to saving her family no matter the personal sacrifice. This is an extraordinary, unforgettable novel, with a haunting voice that follows you into your dreams at night. Elizabeth Hardinger carves the geography of the human heart and teaches us the lessons of the forgiveness and the redemption that is possible for those of us strong enough to bear the burden and gift of love.”
—Jonis Agee, award‑winning author of The River Wife and The Bones of Paradise
“Elizabeth Hardinger has given us a heroine for the ages. In the face of unimaginable hardship, where survival is the only thing that matters, she learns strength and courage, and discovers joy in unexpected places. Her voice is strong and authentic and unforgettable. Equal parts tender and brutal, All the Forgivenesses is a rich, exquisite novel.”
—Alex George, author of Setting Free the Kites
“It won't take a page to know this is an abiding story told in an utterly captivating voice. I fell into this novel in a way I've only experienced when reading Kaye Gibbons, Louise Erdrich, Dorothy Allison, and Alice Walker. The sense of place and time, of family, guilt, grief, and love are so richly layered, reading All the Forgivenesses is mesmerizing. No one writes like Hardinger. Thank goodness she does.”
—Sandra Scofield, National Book Award finalist for Beyond Deserving
“Composed with unassuming wisdom and grace, All the Forgivenesses is an exhilarating testament to the human spirit. You'll fall in love with the remarkable Bertie, whose unwavering loyalty to family delivers her a life rich with meaning and hard‑won transcendence. A captivating debut by an exciting new voice in fiction.”
—Wayne Harrison, author of The Spark and the Drive
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B07L2F9TXT
- Publisher : A John Scognamiglio Book (August 27, 2019)
- Publication date : August 27, 2019
- Language : English
- File size : 1648 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 371 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #11,390 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #63 in U.S. Historical Fiction
- #108 in Historical Literary Fiction
- #156 in Coming of Age Fiction (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews from the United States
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Bertie learns to open her heart to joy and love.
Loved the themes of family loyalty and redemption.
Top reviews from other countries
the little ones as her mom is either sick or pregnant it seems . When the
family moves she meets Alta Bea and they become great friends, when they
go to a dance Bertie sees Sam, the man she knows she will marry