A New York Times Bestseller & Oprah's Book Club Pick
Young Julie Harmon works “hard as a man,” they say, so hard that at times she’s not sure she can stop. People depend on her to slaughter the hogs and nurse the dying. People are weak, and there is so much to do. At just seventeen she marries and moves down into the valley of Gap Creek, where perhaps life will be better.
But Julie and Hank’s

...

In this story Dr. Palmer brings tales of very gifted mountain healers, who lacked formal education into the narrative. It represents the self-sustaining lives of those who chose to live in beautiful, isolated spots in the Great Smoky Mountains. Midwifery and healing was the only source of medical care for rural and poor people. Although far apart from each other's homes, the characters share neighborly attention and kindnesses. The stories are beautifully...