Bøger af Lynn Coffey

Mountain Folk is the fifth and final book in the Backroads series by Lynn Coffey that showcases the lives and customs of the native Appalachian people of Virginia's highlands.Interviews with seventeen people still living in and around the hamlet of Love where the author makes her home, shed a new light on these private and oft-misunderstood folks whose roots grow deep in the rocky soil of the Blue Ridge Mountains.Read about Ruby May Henderson and Irma Roberts, both now over one-hundred years of age who can remember what life was like during the horse and buggy days of their childhood.Or Carl Coffey, whose father died when he was eight years old, leaving him and his younger in charge of making a living for their family of five by logging the forest with a massive but gentle ox named "Mike".Be swept away by Frances Fitzgerald's account of the Flood of 1969, when Hurricane Camille ripped through rural Nelson County, Virginia, dumping over two feet of rain in an eight hour period, destroying not only property but taking the mountains down with it, along with 124 lives.Read the eulogy for Owen Garfield Campbell; one of the last true mountain men of our area, who, following in the footsteps of his early ancestors, continued to live a life devoid of all modern conveniences.These stories and more will thrill the reader and command new respect for the last generation of mountain people who lived the old way.

Signs, superstitions, remedies and cures. The first book in Lynn Coffey's five-book series about Virginia's Appalachian culture, Backroads; Plain Folk and Simple Livin' gives readers a look into a disappearing way of life that has served generations of mountain people well. The book contains thirty-one chapters ranging from digging ginseng, churning butter, old time recipes, beekeeping, early burial practices and handmade coffins as well as in-depth interviews with six elder native people of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With endorsements from Earl Hamner, Jr., creator of the Waltons, and Jan Karon, author of the popular Mitford series, Backroad is a testament to the tenacity and resilience of the hearty Scots/Irish immigrants born and raised in the isolated hollers deep in Virginia's hazy blue mountains. Reminiscent of the Foxfire books, Backroads; Plain Folk and Simple Livin' captures the essence and spirit of those who chose a hardscrabble way of life over the confines of city living. A must read for those longing for a simpler way of life and a modicum of self-sufficiency.

Backroads 3: Faces of Appalachia is the third in a five-book series by Lynn Coffey about the native people of Virginia's highlands and their customs. As with the first two Backroads books, Faces of Appalachia is chock full of old time subject matter such as making apple cider, scrub board washing, cutting winter firewood, gathering watercress, outdoor privies, tapping maple trees for syrup and the demise of the American Chestnut trees, which the mountain people said was "the worst lick the south ever had". Lynn writes the life stories of twenty-four of her close friends living in and around the mountain village of Love where she makes her home, giving new insight into the lives of those inappropriately dubbed "hillbillies" by the media. People like Lizzie Wyant Wood, the plucky little woman who raised nine children and at this writing is almost 111 years of age and still living in her own home, doing her laundry, cooking meals, planting garden and canning the harvest as well as beating anyone who sis down in the evenings to play a hand of Pollyanna. Take a ride with Junior Hatter, a rural mountain mail carrier who still delivers groceries to the older widows on his route or opens a mailbox with a Mason jar of sugar in it with a note, "Take this down to Annie Carr who is baking a cake and needs it". Or marvel at the love between Irvin and Melba Rosen who celebrated their sixty-seventh wedding anniversary and are still busy, active people, full of good humor and a zest for life than many envy.These and many more will entertain readers and give new respect for the rugged folks that call the Blue Ridge Mountains home.

In Backroads 2: The Road to Chicken Holler, Lynn Coffey is back with another remarkable journey into the lives of the elder people of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. In her first book, Backroads: Plain Folk and Simple Livin', she revealed the charm of the "old ways" as she told the stories of the native residents living in and around the little hamlet of Love, Virginia, where the author makes her home. In her second volume, we are once again taken back to this beautiful country setting, beginning with an interview with Doris Giannini Hamner, the real "Olivia" of the popular TV series, The Waltons. From there, it's on to river baptizing, pickling beets, midwives and home births, bear hunting, mountain music and those wonderful recipes. Each story is enhanced with a multitude of photos of early ancestors, craftwork and breathtaking scenery that only the Blue Ridge Mountains can afford. No one tells the story of the Appalachian culture with such heart, warmth, and respect as Lynn Coffey because this is her life and these are her people. Or as Brad Herzog, the best-selling author of the American travel memoir, States of Mind, says, "Like its predecessor, this book is a celebration-of the people and pastimes of a bygone era and a magical place. It is a snapshot of a flickering candle before it burns out, and Lynn Coffey is the keeper of the flame."

This book contains "the current oral histories of 19 native people still living in the Virginia highlands where the author makes her home. The material is new, fresh and full of rich history taken from those who can remember what life was like before electricity, telephones and indoor plumbing; before technology became a household word. It was a time when survival depended on how well the crops and gardens grew. A time when the labor was hard but brought an inward satisfaction to those living the old way. When the last generation of mountain folk are gone most of the knowledge of the rugged culture that nourished and sustained them will be gone as well." --From author's website.