{"product_id":"prayers-and-lies-9780758253248","title":"Prayers and Lies","description":"When seven-year-old Bethany meets her six-year-old cousin Reana Mae, it's the beginning of a kinship of misfits that saves both from a bone-deep loneliness. Every summer, Bethany and her family leave Indianapolis for West Virginia's Coal River Valley. For Bethany's mother, the trips are a reminder of the coalmines and grinding poverty of her childhood, of a place she'd hoped to escape. But her loving relatives, and Bethany's friendship with Reana Mae, keep them coming back. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut as Bethany grows older, she realizes that life in this small, close-knit community is not as simple as she once thought. . .that the riverside cabins that hold so much of her family's history also teem with scandalous whispers. . .and that those closest to her harbor unimaginable secrets. Amid the dense woods and quiet beauty of the valley, these secrets are coming to light at last, with a force devastating enough to shatter lives, faith, and the bond that Bethany once thought would last forever. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSpanning four decades, Sherri Wood Emmons' debut is a haunting, captivating novel about the unexpected, sometimes shocking events that thrust us into adulthood--and the connections that keep us tethered, always, to our pasts. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAdvance praise for Sherri Wood Emmons and Prayers and Lies\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"From the first sentence, the voice of the narrator, Bethany, rings true and never falters. By the end of the book, I cared for every aunt and cousin, mother and sister, even the most troubled and dangerous. \u003ci\u003ePrayers and Lies\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of a family that knows how to love and forgive and get on with life.\" --Drusilla Campbell, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Good Sister\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Through the careful rendering of this dysfunctional family, Emmons makes us fall in love with Bethany Wylie, the young girl at the heart of this story, as well as her wayward cousin, Reana Mae. The evolution of their friendship--the way they grow together and grow apart--is heart-breaking.\" --T. Greenwood, author of \u003ci\u003eTwo Rivers\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Prepare to stay up all night reading  Sherri Wood Emmons perfectly captures the devastating impact of family secrets in her beautifully written--and ultimately hopeful--debut novel. With its evocative setting and realistically crafted characters, \u003ci\u003ePrayers and Lies\u003c\/i\u003e is a must read for fans of rich family drama.\" --Diane Chamberlain, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Lies We Told\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A sweet, revealing tale of family, friendship, long-held secrets and includes the all-important ingredients of forgiveness and love.\" --Kris Radish, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Shortest Distance Between Two Women\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"I loved it.\" --Cathy Lamb, author of \u003ci\u003eSuch A Pretty Face\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Kiss \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWe always knew when Bobby Lee came home. Folks up and \u003cbr\u003edown the Coal River Valley heard the roar of his motorcycle \u003cbr\u003eon the gravel road long before he tore around the final bend, turning \u003cbr\u003eso sharp he lay nearly sideways on the ground. Sometimes he'd \u003cbr\u003ebe gone weeks at a time, sometimes just a few days. But his homecoming \u003cbr\u003enever changed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe rode into the valley like a conquering hero. And Jolene, his \u003cbr\u003ewife, would come flying out of their shabby cabin, long red hair \u003cbr\u003estreaming behind her, just as Bobby Lee pulled into their little dirt \u003cbr\u003eyard. He'd be off the huge bike in a flash as she ran down the two \u003cbr\u003ebroken and patched steps and into his arms. And then there would \u003cbr\u003ebe the kiss--scandalous for that rural West Virginia community in \u003cbr\u003ethe 1960s. We children would stand on our own porches or in the \u003cbr\u003eroad, gaping at the two of them, our mouths and eyes wide. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUsually, Reana Mae was waiting on the porch, too, but Bobby \u003cbr\u003eLee didn't notice her right off. His wife was such a whirlwind of \u003cbr\u003ered curls and short skirts and hunger that their daughter--thin, \u003cbr\u003efreckled, and silent--went unnoticed. After the kiss would come \u003cbr\u003egifts, if his haul had been a long one. Sometimes, Bobby Lee drove \u003cbr\u003ehis rig all the way from Charleston to California, and he brought \u003cbr\u003eJolene and Reana presents from places like Los Angeles and Las \u003cbr\u003eVegas. Usually a toy or coloring book for Reana. For Jolene, he \u003cbr\u003ebrought clothes--shocking clothes. Like the halter top and hot \u003cbr\u003epants he brought from San Francisco. Or the lime green minidress \u003cbr\u003efrom Chicago. Jolene strutted around like a peacock in them, while \u003cbr\u003ethe rest of the valley folk shook their heads and whispered to one \u003cbr\u003eanother over their fences and laundry lines. Jolene was the first \u003cbr\u003ewoman in the valley to go braless, her round, full breasts barely \u003cbr\u003econtained beneath the tight T-shirts and sweaters she wore. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter the gifts and the hellos and the \"What's happenin' in the \u003cbr\u003eworld?\" talk, Jolene would send Reana Mae off to her greatgrandma's, \u003cbr\u003ethen disappear into the house with her husband for the \u003cbr\u003erest of the afternoon. Sometimes, Reana spent the night at her \u003cbr\u003eGrandma Loreen's before Jolene remembered to come for her. \u003cbr\u003eLoreen would make up Jolene's old room, and she'd fry pork chops \u003cbr\u003eand boil potatoes with green beans and bacon fat like Reana \u003cbr\u003ewanted, and she'd sing her the lullaby she used to sing to her own \u003cbr\u003ebabies. And so, on those days, Reana Mae got cherished a little bit. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJolene wasn't from the valley, though her people were. She'd \u003cbr\u003espent most of her childhood up north in Huntington with her \u003cbr\u003emama, EmmaJane Darling. Her father, whoever he might have \u003cbr\u003ebeen, was long gone before Jolene made her appearance at Our \u003cbr\u003eLady of Mercy Charity Hospital in Huntington. Jolene came to live \u003cbr\u003ewith her grandparents, Ray and Loreen, after EmmaJane died, and \u003cbr\u003eshe was a handful. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut Bobby Lee fell for Jolene the first time he laid his eyes on \u003cbr\u003eher, the day she came to the Coal River. She was just twelve years \u003cbr\u003eold then, but she looked sixteen in her tight black skirt, low-cut \u003cbr\u003eblouse, and bright-red lipstick. And Bobby Lee told his little \u003cbr\u003ebrother, \"I'm gonna marry that girl.\" Fiv\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Kensington Publishing Corporation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/01\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780758253248\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 312\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.67lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.26h x 5.70w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/11\/2010 pg. 23\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2010 pg. 102\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eRomantic Times\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2011 pg. 43 - Very Good\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Sherri Wood Emmons","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36641851637916,"sku":"9780758253248","price":15.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_db0559d2-fab0-4aa5-a3db-355d1e541ca4.jpg?v=1603854092","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/prayers-and-lies-9780758253248","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}