Review: The Funeral Dress by Susan Gregg Gilmore

Here is a summary of the book from the publisher's website: 

Emmalee Bullard and her new baby are on their own. Or so she thinks, until Leona Lane, the older seamstress who sat by her side at the local shirt factory where both women worked as collar makers, insists Emmalee come and live with her.  Just as Emmalee prepares to escape her hardscrabble life in Red Chert holler, Leona dies tragically.  Grief-stricken, Emmalee decides she’ll make Leona’s burying dress, but there are plenty of people who don't think the unmarried Emmalee should design a dress for a Christian woman - or care for a child on her own. But with every stitch, Emmalee struggles to do what is right for her daughter and to honor Leona the best way she can, finding unlikely support among an indomitable group of seamstresses and the town’s funeral director. In a moving tale exploring Southern spirit and camaraderie among working women, a young mother will compel a town to become a community.

My Review:
This was a lovely story that is told between two women and also two different time periods.  It starts out in 1970s Tennessee while also giving glimpses of 1950s Tennessee.  Although the story is mostly about young Emmalee we also get to know what made Leona the woman she was.

Emmalee didn't have much of a life living in Red Chert with her father who spent most of his days in a drunken state.  Her life was cast in a new direction when she took a job at the Tennewa Shirt Factory.  Most of the women worked there for years, but they took Emmalee under their wings, teaching her the ropes and becoming one of them.  She needed to earn money to support her new baby because her father certainly wasn't any help in that department.  She didn't expect to develop such close friendships with her co-workers, but working side-by-side next to Leona created a relationship similar to a mother and daughter.

Leona has lived a hard life up on Old Lick mountain and has had more than her share of heartache.  She and her husband, Curtis, live in a small trailer on the mountain, nothing fancy but they get by fine with their love of the Lord and each other.  They don't have much, but never having children of their own they decide to take Emmalee and her new baby into their home.  They know Emmalee doesn't receive any form of support at home and they have enough love to help both of them get a start in life.

A turn of event puts a crimp in the plans to move Emmalee into Leona's home, setting Emmalee on a new path of self-discovery.  Emmalee doesn't know much about mothering, but expects Leona to help her in this area.  I have to tell you that Emmalee is not a good mother throughout the book and that was quite disturbing for me.  I know she was young, but I do believe that some things just come natural for mothers.  But I also know that if there isn't anyone to offer assistance parents can make big mistakes.

Although I was often frustrated with Emmalee, I also couldn't help wanting her to come out on top.   I enjoyed reading this story and couldn't help but read certain parts over again that made me smile.  With themes of motherhood, friendship, and losses, I'm sure many of you will enjoy this book as much as I did.  I don't hesitate in recommending this novel for personal leisure or as a book club discussion.

My Rating:  4/5


Disclosure:  This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore

Here is a summary of the book from the Goodreads website:

Sometimes you have to return to the place where you began, to arrive at the place where you belong.

It’s the early 1970s. The town of Ringgold, Georgia, has a population of 1,923, one traffic light, one Dairy Queen, and one Catherine Grace Cline. The daughter of Ringgold’s third-generation Baptist preacher, Catherine Grace is quick-witted, more than a little stubborn, and dying to escape her small-town life.

Every Saturday afternoon, she sits at the Dairy Queen, eating Dilly Bars and plotting her getaway to Atlanta. And when, with the help of a family friend, the dream becomes a reality, she immediately packs her bags, leaving her family and the boy she loves to claim the life she’s always imagined. But before things have even begun to get off the ground in Atlanta, tragedy brings Catherine Grace back home. As a series of extraordinary events alter her perspective–and sweeping changes come to Ringgold itself–Catherine Grace begins to wonder if her place in the world may actually be, against all odds, right where she began.

Intelligent, charming, and utterly readable, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen marks the debut of a talented new literary voice.

My Review:
This was such a neat coming-of-age novel giving us a glimpse of rural life for one young gal in Georgia.  We learn the story of Catherine Grace who has grown up without her mother, knowing the world has so much more to offer than what is available in her stupid little town.  She looks forward to the day she can leave Ringgold for good.

This story had so many elements to it that I just loved.  I found myself smiling or just plain laughing out loud plenty of times while I was reading it.  I am sure many girls could read this book and easily put themselves in Catherine Grace's shoes, as I did.  Many kids that have grown up in small towns can't wait to get out and explore the world.  Personally, I felt the same exact way.  But, like Catherine Grace, once you get out there and start living you realize that it isn't what it's cracked up to be.

Catherine Grace has been lucky to have some wonderful people in her life.  Even with the support of her Preacher father and motherly women to help her, there were still times she felt left out of events because she didn't have a mother of her own.  She not only found kids treating her differently at times, but even adults.  It's hard to grow up with confidence when you feel out of place most of the time.

I loved the relationships in this novel.  Between Catherine Grace, her sister, her father, and Gloria Jean, I absolutely loved all of the characters.  With themes of love, family, and forgiveness I know that many of you would enjoy this book for either personal leisure or a book club discussion.  Our book club loved it and I highly recommend this novel.

My Rating:  5/5

Disclosure:  This book was from my personal collection and I read it for my own entertainment and as a book club selection.