"I reckon it takes leaving to appreciate all the things about [a] place that make it special." This important lesson is learned by Ludelphia Bennett when she sets off from Gee's Bend to Camden to fetch Dr. Nelson for her sick mother. Her mother has just delivered a new baby girl after delivering two stillborn babies. She has pneumonia and possible influenza. The ferry breaks loose and Lu is thrown into the river. Finally making it ashore, she spends the night in Mrs. Cobb's barn. Mrs. Cobb, a recent widow, pulls a shotgun on her and is determined to collect past due debts and all possessions from the residents of Gee's Bend (1932), Alabama. Lu's note to the Red Cross brings sorely needed food and supplies to the poverty-ridden community.
Mark Twain Award Preliminary Nominee 2012-13
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