Betty

A young girl learns startling facts that will follow her for the rest of her life in this gorgeous and poetic book set in the undulating foothills of the Appalachians.

"A girl comes of age against the knife."

This is how Betty Carpenter's story starts. Betty was born in 1954 into a white mother and a Cherokee father in a bathtub. She is the sixth of eight siblings. They live in a world of extreme poverty and violence, which comes from both the outside and, tragically, the inside of the family. Betty finds solace in the lush scenery, which is alive with birdsong, wild fruit, and shooting stars. However, when her family's darkest secrets are revealed, she is forced to face the terrible past that is hidden in the hills, as well as the heartbreaking injustices and remarkable people she comes across in her small Ohio town of Breathed.

But Betty is strong in spite of her struggles. In spite of everything she witnesses, Betty finds a way out of her situation by starting to write. Her insatiable curiosity about the natural world, her intense love for her sisters, and her father's wonderful stories serve as fuel for her own creative fire. She uses a pen and paper to write down and bury the tragedies of her family's past and present—moments that hurt her so much she was unable to talk about them until now.

Drawing inspiration from her personal mother's life, Tiffany McDaniel aims to liberate the past by narrating this tragic yet enchanted tale. Her extraordinary book solidifies her position as one of the most significant and up-and-coming voices in American fiction.