Appalachian Blessings

Sarah Loudin Thomas

COMING HOME

Thomas Wolfe said you can’t go home again, but maybe he just didn’t try hard enough. My home has always been a plot of mountain land in north-central West Virginia. Six generations of my family have lived on that land before me and I can stand on the same ground my great-great-great-great grandparents did. It’s not so much that I long to go home again as it is that I carry home in my heart.

And I hope my stories instill that feeling of timeless belonging in your heart as well. I tell tales rooted in the land and spirit of Appalachia. And even if you don’t live there, I hope, when you settle into a novel, you’ll feel that sense of coming home that I do.

So the next time you want to pull out an heirloom quilt, dig into a piece of homemade pie, and do a little reminiscing–you might flip open the cover of one of my novels. I’m always ready to escort you back home again.

Book Club Questions for The Right Kind of Fool

1) What was it like reading the story from a deaf person’s perspective? Have you ever known someone who was deaf? Do you know any sign language?
2) Why do you think Creed essentially abandoned his family? Did you think he was in the wrong or did you understand why he felt the way he did?
3) If you were Delphy, how would you have handled your husband going to live in a cabin on the mountain?
4) What did Loyal want most from his father?
5) How did Creed’s way of seeing his son change over the course of the story?
6) Although married, Creed and Delphy embarked on a new romance as the story progressed. What did you think of Creed’s attempts to woo his wife?
7) How did Michael and Rebecca each see and relate to Loyal? When you were a kid, how would you have acted toward a deaf peer?
8) Creed may be a fool, but he turns out to be a fool for his family. Has behaving foolishly ever worked out well for you?