In 1950s eastern Kentucky, Eva Hoskins flees her abusive marriage for a new life in the tiny mountain town of Helton, where she's hired as a medicinal plant guide. When her husband, Luther, tracks her down, she fights to reconcile the love she once felt for her high school sweetheart with the cruel man he became.
His arrival threatens all she gained. He claims to be a changed man and wants her back - but she fights to assert her independence, uncertain of his intentions. Are his promises possible? When Luther reconnects with his brother and mother, opening a door to his past, Eva recognizes the boy she fell in love with. As they grow closer, they face the dark shadows of his childhood. Can love survive violence, or are some wounds too deep?
For fans of Ron Rash and David Joy, Snakeroot and Cohosh is the tale of a young woman who relies on her instincts and wit for survival in a dangerous world of poverty and rural isolation. Set against the rugged beauty of Appalachia, this is a story of courage, resilience and the healing power of community.
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"Cathy Schieffelin writes about generational trauma with unusual intelligence, creating characters that are not only genuinely flawed but also utterly believable. Eva is a character who reveals a lot about survival and taking responsibility for one's destiny." - Meg McKinnon for Book Commentary
"Snakeroot & Cohosh holds a mirror up to the choices we make, the pain we unconsciously and consciously inherit, and the strength it takes to choose love above all." - Tomi Alo for Independent Book Review
"Schieffelin's novel, set in rural Kentucky in the 1950's, investigates whether love and marriage can survive terrible violence....The story is told via alternating third-person points of view, which effectively allows the two main players to grow and gain insight; the nuanced narrative balances believable dialogue, deep introspection, and a slow healing process. Concise, readable prose evokes the remote setting and its inhabitants, who live difficult, often precarious lives." - Kirkus Review
"Cathy Schieffelin's Snakeroot & Cohosh takes rural Kentucky and spins it into a character as real and textured as Eva herself. Appalachia is dressed with frost, wood smoke, and medicinal roots drying on the rafters, with the rhythm of evening fiddle sessions pulling readers into a working landscape of both commerce and kinship. Schieffelin shows us what strength looks like in a woman who has been drained emotionally with a sobering physical history written into her body." - Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
