Kindle Edition Amazon Geneva King Emerson Category:  Action/Thriller Publisher: Xulon ISBN-10:  1609573536 Type: Fiction Pages: 382 Copyright: Aug 3, 2010 ISBN-13: 9781609573539 Even in loss and nearly insurmountable daily struggle, love and humor can be found--and, yes, there is hope. The Greatest of These is historically-accurate fiction set in the Ozarks during the Great Depression. Scenes of the characters' daily lives invites the reader to take the other chair on the front porch or a seat at the kitchen table to visit. Inside the stories, one observes how an extended family and their neighbors helped each other survive devastating events, comprehends the Source of their strength, and  marvels at their daily use of the greatest gift bestowed on humanity. Excerpt Hannah Ruth watched the hobo return the empty plate to her grandmother at the back door. "Thank ye kindly, Missus. Ye're a mighty fine cook." "There's a dab more coffee," Mrs. Boyer replied gently. "You want it?" "Oh,yes'm, please." His knurled hand trembled as he held the mug. The pathetic look in his eyes made the child feel sad. Mrs. Boyer searched her pie safe. She wrapped a slice of pie and a piece of buttered cornbread in brown paper and handed it to the man in exchange for the empty mug. "A little something ye can nibble on later,"she said.

Dr. Earl W. Belcher
The story that Geneva Emerson presents of her childhood in the Ozarks foothills during the depression is reminiscent of those occasionally heard from the old timers. However, as this older generation disappears, we are losing the history of the struggles that occurred with the poverty and hard labor in this area just to find daily survival. We need to retain as much of this history as possible to remind us of what it took to populate and develop this frontier.