Above the Fall Line: The Trail from White Pine Cabin

Rating:
Summary: Aim for Grace
Review: Amy Blackmarr's third book of personal essays may be the best yet. Her sensitive descriptions of the environment, poetic musings, and characteristic flashes of humor make this book a joy to read. The epigraph is a quote from Ann Beattie--"What will happen can't be stopped: aim for grace." I believe that's what Blackmarr did with this book, and she has succeeded admirably.

Rating:
Summary: Masterful weaver
Review: If you've ever walked in the woods, loved a dog, lost a dog, lost a love, failed at school or been to camp, you will relish Amy Blackmarr's essays in Above the Fall Line. Blackmarr returns to her native Georgia from Kansas, where life dealt her some blows, to live in a tiny cabin in the mountains. There she reflects on her surroundings and everyday events, masterfully weaving irony and insight but avoiding sentimentality. Her topics range from romance gone bad to her dog's encounter with a bear, and her wry observations allow the reader to learn from her self-discovery.