Rough Lumber: Stories from Spurlock Creek

This book is very special. It brought back so many memories of my childhood days. I couldn't lay it down. I wanted to read and learn more of what was happening. Of course I grew up in WV and it meant so much to me.

This dear book is full of beautiful descriptions about the author's life in Appalachia. With great courage, the author truly shares what is on her heart. My favorite part of her life story is how she first met her husband and their courtship.

This was about the type of people that knew how to build character in all of their generations of families. The goodness and non-fault finding of this strong family was as refreshing as a creek after a spring rain..Thank you Justine Felix Rutherford

When I read this book, the tales of my own grandmother stirred in my mind. Justine's humor and joy of life should serve as a standard to a new generation as she proves that determination, love and mischief taken in good measure will put you on a path of joy and fulfillment throughout your life. Close your eyes and you can smell the spring afternoon at the brook, or hog-killing day. Maybe you'll hear the whispers in class, or the dying breath of one of the patients she cared for until the end of their days. This book is rich in imagery and will take you to a time only a few will still remember with such clarity and fondness. At last, an accurate picture of rural life in the West Virginia hills.

The author gives vivid detail of her life in rural West Virginia during the depression and afterwards. For anyone with a desire to know how life was in poor Appalachia, this an excellent book to get factual details. I know that she gives an accurate detail about the life because I also grew up in the same area.