R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed on + 1452 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I've had this book on my shelves since it first came out, compliments of a gr friend. Why it took me so long to read I'm not sure. It's funny, heartening and just plain fun. It's the story of the author's grandmother who was a determined woman who chose how she lived from gambling with the cowboys to selling contraband liquor. It's chock full of anecdotes gathered from her past. Of course, the author invents much of the dialog but the facts and bones of the book belong to Lily Casey Smith who lived them.
Lily is the narrator telling the story. She begins with an exciting childhood experience where she, her brother and sister are caught in a flood. Thanks to Lily, the three climb a tree that weathers the flood and stay there through the night waiting for the water to go down. While her mother thanks God for saving the children's lives, her father winks at her commenting that the angel of deliverance was named Lily. This tale is only one of many that mark Lily's unusual life.
She rides hundreds of miles to begin teaching in a small school. Moving to Chicago, she marries a n'er do well while she seeks more education. When she discovers her husband is already married and has three children she visits the courthouse to find his marriage license and seeks a divorce. Leaving Chicago behind, she goes back to teaching. Eventually this determined young woman gets enough education to teach without being displaced by those with better credentials. However, she insists upon teaching that which will help the children live in a changing world often without the approval of the parents or the community. Again and again she is fired. Finally, she finds a man who respects her for who she is, she proposes, they marry and life goes on.
Lily is the narrator telling the story. She begins with an exciting childhood experience where she, her brother and sister are caught in a flood. Thanks to Lily, the three climb a tree that weathers the flood and stay there through the night waiting for the water to go down. While her mother thanks God for saving the children's lives, her father winks at her commenting that the angel of deliverance was named Lily. This tale is only one of many that mark Lily's unusual life.
She rides hundreds of miles to begin teaching in a small school. Moving to Chicago, she marries a n'er do well while she seeks more education. When she discovers her husband is already married and has three children she visits the courthouse to find his marriage license and seeks a divorce. Leaving Chicago behind, she goes back to teaching. Eventually this determined young woman gets enough education to teach without being displaced by those with better credentials. However, she insists upon teaching that which will help the children live in a changing world often without the approval of the parents or the community. Again and again she is fired. Finally, she finds a man who respects her for who she is, she proposes, they marry and life goes on.
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