The Girl from Rat Row

Book excerpt: In rural Georgia of the 1950s, Haley, a bootleggers daughter, begins her journey. Raised by two uneducated parents and working in cotton fields, Haley endures abuse, alcoholism, ridicule, and most glaringly, an environment where little love is ever shown. She is introduced to a former slave, Aunt Matilda, a woman with no children of her own, who raises Haley to love the Lord in spite of their present circumstances. In the 1960s, as a seventeen-year-old with two children out of wedlock, Haley attempts to escape the harsh realities of her past, only to have them follow her to New Hampshire. Drinking and partying to ease the pain becomes a way of life for her. Haley is finally forced to begin facing her inner demons and perceiving the call of God on her life. Witness the extraordinary journey of the girl from Rat Row in this harrowing tale of overcoming the worst of ones past to get to the best of ones future.