She-Rain: A Story of Hope

By Michael Cogdill

Book Overview

In the early 20th Century, a pair of North Carolina mountain children sow the seed of a love that becomes their only solace in the hard yet beautiful world they know. They grow it from steep ground of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1600377025
• ISBN13: 9781600377020
• Release Date: March 2010
• Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.1" x 0.8" x 6.2"

Customer Reviews

Soup for the Soul

She-Rain: A Story of Hope is indeed soup for the soul! I'm usually a reader of non-fiction, but this book caught my eye immediately. The story takes place in North Carolina, and being a resident of South Carolina I just couldn't resist! Right away I was drawn into the lives of Frank and Sophia, living with poverty, racism, and family violence. As I devoured each chapter my mind was filled with the images created by the soft flowing prose, filling my heart with so many emotions! Sadness, desperation, loneliness, pain, sorrow, hope, joy, forgiveness, and most of all love. The author easily captures the tragic events in Frank and Sophia's lives, but also conveys the deep, lasting, loving relationship they shared. A forbidden relationship in their time, but one that could not be ignored. Frank and Sophia both experience tragedy in their lives, but they also experience a deep friendship and love for each other. For anyone that has been a victim of family violence She-Rain is indeed soup for the soul!

For the lover of literature in search of something powerful.

While allowing the end of this book to settle with me I sat thinking of adjectives for this piece of work: beautiful, emotional, tragic, sensual, heartbreaking, uplifting, stunning, lyrical, lovely, lonely, solitary, epic. A book of words ten years in the making. An incredible story, physical in emotion, impressive in form, intimidating in skill. A true piece of beauty and a novel to last and thrive. She-Rain is the story of Frankie Locke, Junior. Born in a small, poor mill-town in North Carolina in the 1920s, child of a drug-addicted abusive father, and a determined but tragic mother, Frankie holds little happiness for the world until it comes in the form of his first and deepest love, Mary Lizbeth. But his passion for Mary L. is cut short, and can't make him stay when running from home is the only way Frankie can save his mother. And so he leaves, hoping to land safe in Asheville, but finding himself in the arms of Sophia Proctor instead. Sophia, nurturing and graceful; the mysteriously adopted child, now woman, of the reclusive mill-owning Proctor family. Shunned by society for her skin-color, Sophia with her charm and wisdom, and sadness, has been living in the Proctor house secluded from society, alone and lonely until Frankie. Born on the wings of fate, Frankie and Sophia find each other in a time of struggle, and together they weather the storm of life and the tragedies that come their way. Forbidden by society to stay together in love, separated by Frankie's past and Sophia's future, these two solitary hearts bond and their story is one of pain and sadness, but deeply of hope and the many types, shapes, and color of love. A slow and sultry story, told in Southern language forcing you to read at a Southern pace, She-Rain is an incomparable narrative, deep and difficult in emotion and topic, tear-raising and truly amazing. It will pull at your heart, pull at your soul, and make you believe. Exposing economic, racial, and physical divides; encompassed in less than 350 pages with a lifetime of experience. Not for the faint of heart, but for the true reader, the lover of literature in search of something powerful. 5 stars (I received this book from the publisher for review)

Beautifully Written - A Must Read!

I am really struggling to write this review, because everything I've tried putting down so far, seems so lame. There is no real way I can describe how beautifully written this book is. She-Rain was written with the most beautiful prose and has that rich Southern feel that makes this book amazing and one of the best, if not THE best story I've ever read. Beautifully written, "She-Rain" captured my soul from the beginning. The story is about an abused boy, Frank Jr., who grew up in a mill town in the 1920's with an alcoholic and drug addicted father and a strong and hard working mother. The emotions are raw and real and cover all from anger, hatred, and rage, to love, hope and forgiveness. The characters are so very real, so real that I swear I've known some of them from my own childhood. Although I finished this book a few days ago, I still am breathless by this most unforgettable novel. This is a book that I will be keeping in my permanent collection and will be read again and again. I honestly won't be surprised, if in years to come, it becomes a classic. It is truly a treasure that should not be missed. This is a must to add to this year's reading list.

Beautiful novel that will help you rejuvenate your spirit of hope

It's been a long time since I've read a book like She-Rain that actually paints a picture as you read. You are not only pulled into the depth of the story, but also the beauty of Michael Cogdill's prose. Even if you just read a short excerpt from the book, you will be quickly transported into the splendor of the She-Rain world. During these challenging times, we all need that image and portrayal of hope. She-Rain offers us this hope wrapped up in a story of love that will move even the most callous reader. I know we will all see and hear much more about Michael Cogdill in the months and years to come.

Amazing!

Amazing Michael Cogdill has not disappointed me. His words in She-Rain flow like a poet writing in the middle of a beautiful garden of life; even if some of the plants in the garden are ugly, the garden of life itself is magnificent. His hand flows and he writes what his heart tells him, which is genius. Once you read the Preface you are hooked -- even before the first chapter begins to tell us about the drama of this family in Appalachia. This is a writer that understands life and living, loving and dying. From the beginning, in your mind's eye you can see the family members sitting at the table. You can hear his grandmother talking. She may sound like your grandmother, and his father may sound like mine. Give yourself the gift of emotion, because She-Rain will put feeling back into your life.