"...A novel of love and life that is humorous and delicate. The regulars at the Cavern Tavern in the small southern town of Waterville, located somewhere in the Appalachian Piedmont, partake of all the quirkiness expected of literary denizens of dive bars in the South. The residents of the Cave ... welcome newcomer Josie into their community when she arrives in town. After taking up a position as bartender in the Cave, Josie learns that `there is enormous comfort to be had in friends who see the worst of you and do not turn away.' Passages drawn from Plato's allegory of the cave and Edith Hamilton's Mythology weave through the story, elevating Josie's struggles to the level of the universal. This is warm, sweet, and inviting, like pie fresh from the oven." — Publishers Weekly
"A young woman living in a college town in the early 1990s learns about life, love, and ancient Greek philosophy in this episodic, often comic tale. With its evenhanded narrator, this low-key novel succinctly evokes the supportive dynamics of the community at its heart." — Kirkus Reviews
Winner: SIBA Summer 2015 Okra Pick Best Book.
Winner: Seven Sisters Book Award, Fiction.
Long List: Pat Conroy Award for Southern Fiction, Prince of Tides Award in Literary Fiction.
Long List: Crook's Corner Book Prize
Finalist: Foreward INDIEFAB Book of the Year, Literary Fiction
Josie's voice is a confection: wry, sweet with Southern humor, and wise beyond her years. Both thoughtful and poignant, this is a novel readers can savor." — Library Journal
The book is fast-moving, witty and insightful. Her blend of philosophy and fiction might remind a reader of the way John Steinbeck constructed The Grapes of Wrath." — Jay Ashley, Times-News (Burlington, NC)
"...A warm, witty and philosophical look at friendship, community and what makes a family." — Anne Blythe, The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)