{"product_id":"blue-skies-red-birds-and-white-magnolias-paperback","title":"Blue Skies, Red Birds, and White Magnolias - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eEd D. Ann H. Brand\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSarah Crook, a plantation owner's wife, and her best friend and neighbor Nita, a black woman, are as close as any friends\u003cbr\u003e could ever be. Although the color of their skin is different, they share the same sass, the same can-do spirit, and the same\u003cbr\u003e loyalty to each another. Theirs is a friendship that defi es what is expected of a woman, traditional Southern conventions, \u003cbr\u003e and the segregation of the time period. Yet their friendship lasts their whole lives through.\u003cbr\u003e In many ways, the two women are intertwined over the span of several generations. The arrival of Sherman's army\u003cbr\u003e changes their family dynamics. The Ku Klux Klan has an impact on their personal safety and livelihood. Education shapes\u003cbr\u003e the future for their children and grandchildren, and a lopsided system of justice leaves the future of some family members'\u003cbr\u003e lives hanging in the balance.\u003cbr\u003e Sarah's granddaughter Holly is blind at birth. Nita's granddaughter Neely becomes her playmate, companion, and\u003cbr\u003e confi dant. Much like their grandmother, the girls live in separate households but share a common spirit and an undying\u003cbr\u003e frindship, depending upon each other for support as they enter adulthood and face personal challenges.\u003cbr\u003e When the Reverend Steven Canon, a Northerner, arrives in the rural North Carolina community of Saw Mill Cove, he\u003cbr\u003e sweeps Neely off her feet. Their relationship is out of the ordinary and troubled from the get-go. Steven has a secret that\u003cbr\u003e he must keep hidden from others in order to be successful, and he uses Neely as a means to an end.\u003cbr\u003e After Grandmama Nita and Mama Tress catch wind of how the reverend has mistreated Neely, they take matters into\u003cbr\u003e their own hands. Grandmama and her friend Laura must appear before a grand jury while Mama Tress is tried not once, but\u003cbr\u003e twice for the reverend's demise. But things aren't on the up and up in Anson County; the justice system is fl awed. A sheriff, \u003cbr\u003e judge, coroner, surprise witness, and clerk muddle the proceedings. As a result, Tress becomes a scapegoat.\u003cbr\u003e Once Neely is on her own, free from Reverend Canon, she has an opportunity to spread her wings in New York City.\u003cbr\u003e She makes choices that allow her to be true to herself and fi nd contentment. From that point on, the choices that she and\u003cbr\u003e her daughter, Lillian, make in regard to the snake oil salesman named Steven Canon are risky and fi lled with drama.\u003cbr\u003e Our Blue Skies, Red Birds, and White Magnolias chronicles four generations of strong women and proves what can\u003cbr\u003e happen when a woman trusts her heart and mind to make a right decision.\u003cbr\u003e --Paula M. Sheard, Editor\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 238\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.62 x 11 x 8.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 20, 2017\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42114558197895,"sku":"9781543436327","price":164.68,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/851497a7aba5f1b0650dd3289634ec3a.webp?v=1732500579","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/blue-skies-red-birds-and-white-magnolias-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}