Retter (review)

"Your bra smells like cider scab" -but these lines from "Addicted" surely will appeal to any writer: I'll get it out any way I can: beat it out of a ribbon, Squeeze it from a machine, lie with it late at night dried-out, hoping for resurrection. -Garry Barker Garza, Amy. Retter. Nashville, Tennessee : Winston-Derek Publishers, Inc., 1988. Amy Garza dreamed that her grandfather asked that she write down stories he had told her about her grandmother. She couldn't get it out of her mind and became convinced she must do as directed in the dream. The result is Retter, a believable and sympathetic book which reflects Ms. Garza's ability to listen with her heart. Retter Coggins Ammons, born in the late 1800s, lived all her life in the mountains of North Carolina, near Tuckaseegee . She learned herbal medicine from her Indian grandfather and was guided by a "spirit language" she attributed to her Indian heritage. Retter fell in love with Tom Ammons, married him at 15 and birthed 11 children. She struggled with the deaths of two babies, alcoholism , a disabled husband, and hard times; and yet, she triumphed. Amy Garza's willingness to write about her grandmother's weaknesses as well as strengths helps create a uniquely realistic portrayal of mountain life. This is not a book where a saintly grandmother weaves, quilts, sings ballads, and lives a life of perfection. Nor is it a sensationalized accounting of people defeated by poverty and unable to see beauty or feel hope. Instead Ms. Graza has validated so much of what I think her grandmother would have wanted to pass on: ways of knowing by listening with your soul, not letting life get you down, making do, keeping your pride, and the power of love. The strength of Amy Garza's book is found in her sensitivity. Although she demonstrates her ability to tell a story effectively, Retter is unlikely to win rave reviews from people concerned with sophisticated literary techniques or with precise, comprehensive historical writing . Nevertheless, there is an emotional language throughout this book which doesn't falter and which shines with love and warmth. I think Retter'd be proud. -Connie Brosi First Morning The smell of first morning snakes west across the creek and up the hollers, stopping to shake swing chains and mist dog eyes on my front porch. First morning comes only on special days, on days night-chilled to perfection and served proudly to connoisseurs. New day sounds-babies crying, breakfast bringing, radio obits, fights from the night beforehover dogwood high and compete with bird songs and paw patters off in the bushes somewhere out there, jerking us from our first-cup reveries. The sun climbs, morning glories begin to withdraw into themselves, earth smoke bums off, taking away the smell, the chill, and the mystery. -Tom Frazier 68 ...