Description

Book Synopsis

In rural Tennessee, two young people struggle to make a life in a town rife with poverty, guns, and alcohol.

"Holding On To Nothing is a resonant song of the South, all whiskey, bluegrass, Dolly Parton, tobacco fields, and women who know better but still fall for the lowdown men whom they know will disappoint them."—Lauren Groff, National Book Award finalist author of Fates and Furies and Florida

Lucy Kilgore has her bags packed for her escape from her rural Tennessee upbringing, but a drunken mistake forever tethers her to the town and one of its least-admired residents, Jeptha Taylor, who becomes the father of her child. Together, these two young people work to form a family, though neither has any idea how to accomplish that, and the odds are against them in a place with little to offer other than bluegrass music, tobacco fields, and a Walmart full of beer and firearms for the hunting season. Their path is harrowing, but Lucy and Jeptha are characters to love, and readers will root for their success in a novel so riveting that no one will want to turn out the light until they know whether this family will survive.

This new paperback edition features a readers'' guide in the back of the book with questions for discussion and an interview with the author.

Holding On To Nothing

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Fri 19 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback by Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne

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      View other formats and editions of Holding On To Nothing by Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne

      Publisher: John F Blair Publisher
      Publication Date: 1/4/2024
      ISBN13: 9781958888209, 978-1958888209
      ISBN10: 1958888206

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      In rural Tennessee, two young people struggle to make a life in a town rife with poverty, guns, and alcohol.

      "Holding On To Nothing is a resonant song of the South, all whiskey, bluegrass, Dolly Parton, tobacco fields, and women who know better but still fall for the lowdown men whom they know will disappoint them."—Lauren Groff, National Book Award finalist author of Fates and Furies and Florida

      Lucy Kilgore has her bags packed for her escape from her rural Tennessee upbringing, but a drunken mistake forever tethers her to the town and one of its least-admired residents, Jeptha Taylor, who becomes the father of her child. Together, these two young people work to form a family, though neither has any idea how to accomplish that, and the odds are against them in a place with little to offer other than bluegrass music, tobacco fields, and a Walmart full of beer and firearms for the hunting season. Their path is harrowing, but Lucy and Jeptha are characters to love, and readers will root for their success in a novel so riveting that no one will want to turn out the light until they know whether this family will survive.

      This new paperback edition features a readers'' guide in the back of the book with questions for discussion and an interview with the author.

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