Hardscrabble Days

Joey Spencers world, Depression plagued, rural, eastern North Carolina, is a world of limited possibilities, narrow horizons, and strong personalities. It is an era when the mere idea of indoor plumbing or TV is science fiction, but the arrival of the bookmobile or Swindells grocery truck is a much-anticipated treat.

Against this background of unique time and place Joeys story unfolds. Some of his...