With a Hammer for My Heart: A Novel

Deep in Kentucky’s Appalachian Mountains live a handful of down-to-earth, loving, zealous, confused folks. All of them are in search of a shade of truth (though some seek deeper shades than others) and the right to live their lives according to particular rhythms. Lawanda, a teenager who is afraid she’ll get stuck in the Appalachian hills, wants to go to college. Come hell or high water, she’ll go–even if she has to sell magazines to get there. As George Ella Lyon gloriously reveals, that’s where things start to go haywire in this small Kentucky town. On her magazine route, Lawanda meets a crazy old man named Garland. Who could have foretold that the two would become such good friends? More important, is it proper? Lyon allows these fine Kentucky folks to ring in with their opinions, and a few of them reveal their hearts and secrets to us, too. Along the way, readers will discover what shades of truth are necessary to help the crazy to become sane, the young to become strong, the zealous to be believed. Older teens and adults will appreciate the subtle awakenings revealed in With a Hammer for My Heart.