Publisher's Synopsis
When Homer and Bertie's eighth child, Jean Diane stood, fork in hand looking through the glass of an oversized pickle jar at a pair of large eyes staring back, she could not have known this chance meeting would become another tribulation to a family already burdened with many. Jean Diane Young narrates outrageous adventures, laughter and tragedy. Jeannie unwittingly becomes witness to the precursor of charges of a hideous crime against the girl of long ago whose eyes shone through a pickle jar. Jeannie struggles with revealing what she sees for fear of putting herself in a bad light. Our protagonist advances from birth to a young woman leaning on her love and lifelong friend James Henry Anderson. His frequent presence ends in pain and a realization the word, lifelong, becomes a measurement unique to the individual.Revealed is strength and resolve against Nature's undiscriminating happenstances and the torn souls she leaves in her wake. .Jeannie and World War II arrived in the same year. From birth through coming of age, Jean Diane narrates the troubled times of a world war and the struggles for comfort by her family and community. When Jean Diane was born as child number eight, brother, Will knew she most likely would have a tumultuous life as a lungful of protest awakened him and drew him to his mother's bedroom door. He was greeted by a forceful black woman, Aunt Martha Turner. "Git yo haid out'n heer and git yo white ass back ta baid a'fo I kick it so high de's gawnna thank its de moon a'shinning up thar." Will retreated and life as she remembered it began for protagonist Jean Diane. The picture Jean Diane paints of the crude home did not add space as the older boys left to fight. The departing boys brought wives to live with the family still at home. A brother prompts Jeanie's wrath as he refers to James Henry Anderson as her boyfriend. Bertie defuses the situation by suggesting a trip to Papa's store for Jeannie. Jean Diane's frustration with the shyness of a small black girl she meets while at her father's grocery did not leave her with insight as to the trouble that chance meeting held for her or how far was her road in reaching it. And when Rose, Jean Diane's sister coming from the corn field, tore through the back door white and sweaty, Jean Diane's curiosity turned to fear after Mama coached Rose to name her tormentor. Rose sobbed the devil was crawling out of the ground to get her. Jean Diane felt Rose's fear.Our protagonist defends herself against her older siblings and listened to her father and neighbors discuss world events. She tagged alone with her brothers and was there when her mother was almost killed by her brother's invention. Jean Diane was with her father as he watched a neighbor, Hosie, in a battle with his bull. The bull won but Hosie never knew it. Jean Diane suffered the consequences of applying fun meaning, but ill advice, from her grandmother. And when a freak accident put Jeannie down for weeks she gleaned entertainment and information from the radio.Jean Diane begged for Will's life when her grandmother got out the bottle of Death to treat Will's injuries inflicted b a logging chain. Will lived through the accident and Jean Diane witness a rare glimpse of her mother's weakness.Repercussions are heavy when Dave and Will in retaliation of a prank on Will backfires. Death, Compassion and the misadventures of youth hound the Young family."When Sam and me were over here a while back, Will gave us each a piece of chocolate and we 'et it. We wuz on our way to Little Rock on the bus that afternoon to spend the week with our cousins'fore school commenced. We hadn't got much out 'ov town 'fore a furious pain hit my gut and then it hit Sam's. We couldn't git off'n the bus and we both shat our pants, begging your pardon," Dallas quickly interjected after the word he chose to describe the movement of their bowels. "The bus driver made us git off at Malvern
