Beauty Before Comfort

I did not grow up in this pottery area, but I know several people who have. This book helped me to understand what life was like in an area that was once part of the pottery center of the world. I do not feel that the author denigrates the citizens. The story is a memoir. It is her view of her grandmother's life circumstances. Poverty and joblessness are still part of this area's history; to deny this is also to deny the kind-heartedness and character of its people.

I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to read my book. It means a lot to me and I appreciate your interest, even from the few of you who didn't ultimately enjoy the experience. (Although I will admit it hurts to be called "garbage" by a stranger.) For those of you who also wrote reviews, thanks again. Your feedback matters. Happy reading,Allison Glock

Allison Glock has fashioned a lovely little book about her grandmother growing up in West Virginia during the Depression and World War II. The author shares with us anecdotes, both happy and sad, about the hardscrabble existence of those days where working in a pottery factory was how people made their living and social life was pretty much confined to one's holler or at best the next one down the road. Nobody of that generation ever left town except to fight in a war.Glock is especially adept at describing the townspeople and their feelings, drawing the reader into the story and enabling us to feel so close to the characters. The section describing Petey Dink is especially touching.Kudos to author Glock. She has done a marvelous job. This book reminded me of David Baldacci's recent novel, "Wish You Well." Whereas his book is a work of fiction concerning tough times for a family in Virginia, Glock's accounting of her grandmaother's life is all the more interesting because it is true.Keep on writing, Allison. You are very good.

I read the first reviews that came out about Beauty Before Comfort, and, to quote Yogi Berra, it was deja vue all over again: this book could have been written about my mother. In fact, I could have written it!Although my mother stuck, more or less, with one main man (my father) from the time she turned sixteen, I couldn't help comment on the similarities between Aneita Jean and Mary Churchman (my mom). Those many points of comparison made this delicious reading. I believe anyone with a flamboyant female relative in her background would find this book a delight. For me, it filled in many areas of my mother's life during that same era (30s and 40s) that she has pulled a gauzy curtain over - now that preserving her self-image as a devoted wife and mother is more important to her than creating the well-bred hussy image.Beauty Before Comfort - what a great title! It sort of says it all, and this book reads as well as a pair of beautiful and sexy sling-back high-heeled pumps: even if the shoes were borrowed from a cousin, aren't quite the right size, and pinch horribly by the end of the evening, by God, they sure look great!