A fascinating novel, which explores the horrors of eugenics in early 20th century USA, along with a lot about the hardships of rural mountain life between WW1 and 11. A compelling read, well paced, with nicely drawn characters that engaged from the outset. Learnt a lot including about moonshine production. Fantastic.

I downloaded this book because the story about life in the Virginian Mountains between the wars sounded interesting. I soon found that this story was so much more and it kept me engrossed, in order to find out what happened to the Warren family and the other residents of Warrensburg. I liked the characters and warmed to almost everyone. It is interesting that the only sympathetic female character is Millie though. The more I read of this title, the more I became amazed and enraged about the treatment of people with disabilities at that time (and later) and about the eugenics movement in general. I thoroughly recommend this book for both the engaging story but also the insights into a most unfavourable period of social history. The characters and the world of Warrensburg have stayed with me long after I reached the final page.

This book was a very interesting read! The story was well written and explored life in a rural mountain area during WWI and WWII. The characters were believable and I felt like I was right beside them experiencing the story along with them. The background and moonshine information was very interesting and made the story that much better!

Moonshine and subsistence farming are at the heart of this compelling novel about the Warren family in rural Virginia, against a background of eugenics and a benighted attitude to disability. Daughter Millie develops epilepsy after a fall and in the eyes of the medical authorities this makes her a danger to society, as all epileptics are morally perverse. The only thing to do is admit her to an institution and forcibly sterilise her. Sounds farfetched? Not at all. Based on extensive historical research the novel explores this attitude and the bigoted nature of the medical authorities – an approach in which her mother concurs. Life in the mountains, where producing moonshine is a simple matter of economics, always trying to be one step ahead of the law, poverty on an unimaginable scale, desperation to save the family, all this makes for a wonderful if heart-breaking read. Well-paced, well-constructed, with authentic characterisation and dialogue, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Published in 2022 I’m surprised that there are so few reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. It deserves a far wider readership. So read and enjoy!