The Cracked Mirror: Reflections of an Appalachian Son
Billy Ray Chitwood
Rated: 5.00 of 5 stars
5.00
· 1 ratings · 344 pages · Published: 11 Apr 2011
"The Cracked Mirror, Reflections of an Appalachian Son" is largely a true story of the author's own life, a mirror of his past, cracked with the stress of all his memories: a family broken apart by their Appalachian circumstances and the 'great depression;' a childhood tainted by a father's abusive nature; an impetuous marriage and a sorrowful divorce; a subsequent search of 'isms,' for love and meaning in California and Arizona gin mills; a tableau of horrible events, including a senseless family murder, suicide, and a desert survival.
"The Cracked Mirror, Reflections of an Appalachian Son," is the story of Prentice Paul Hiller, his life, his heritage, his mistakes, the events that have come to shape him, and the demon within that he cannot dispel. Along the way, he gives his passionate and provocative views on criminal justice, love, politics, religion, war, and his favorite writers. In the end he finds a new love, some hope for redemption, some semblance of meaning and legacy.
The author's own family roots trace back to the eleventh century in Chetwode, a lovely hamlet north of London, England