Prayers and Lies

Prayers and LiesWhen seven year old Bethany meets her six year old cousin Reana Mae, it's the beginning of a kinship of misfits that saves both from a bone deep loneliness. Every summer, Bethany and her family leave Indianapolis for West Virginia's Coal River Valley. For Bethany's mother, the trips are a reminder of the coalmines and grinding poverty of her childhood, of a place she'd hoped to escape. But her loving relatives, and Bethany's friendship with Reana Mae,

When seven-year-old Bethany meets her six-year-old cousin Reana Mae, it's the beginning of a kinship of misfits that saves both from a bone-deep loneliness. Every summer, Bethany and her family leave Indianapolis for West Virginia's Coal River Valley. For Bethany's mother, the trips are a reminder of the coalmines and grinding poverty of her childhood, of a place she'd hoped to escape. But her loving relatives, and Bethany's friendship with Reana Mae, keep them coming back.

But as Bethany grows older, she realizes that life in this small, close-knit community is not as simple as she once thought. . .that the riverside cabins that hold so much of her family's history also teem with scandalous whispers. . .and that those closest to her harbor unimaginable secrets. Amid the dense woods and quiet beauty of the valley, these secrets are coming to light at last, with a force devastating enough to shatter lives, faith, and the bond that Bethany once thought would last forever.

Spanning four decades, Sherri Wood Emmons' debut is a haunting, captivating novel about the unexpected, sometimes shocking events that thrust us into adulthood--and the connections that keep us tethered, always, to our pasts.

Advance praise for Sherri Wood Emmons and Prayers and Lies

"From the first sentence, the voice of the narrator, Bethany, rings true and never falters. By the end of the book, I cared for every aunt and cousin, mother and sister, even the most troubled and dangerous. Prayers and Lies is the story of a family that knows how to love and forgive and get on with life." --Drusilla Campbell, author of The Good Sister

"Through the careful rendering of this dysfunctional family, Emmons makes us fall in love with Bethany Wylie, the young girl at the heart of this story, as well as her wayward cousin, Reana Mae. The evolution of their friendship--the way they grow together and grow apart--is heart-breaking." --T. Greenwood, author of Two Rivers

"Prepare to stay up all night reading Sherri Wood Emmons perfectly captures the devastating impact of family secrets in her beautifully written--and ultimately hopeful--debut novel. With its evocative setting and realistically crafted characters, Prayers and Lies is a must read for fans of rich family drama." --Diane Chamberlain, author of The Lies We Told

"A sweet, revealing tale of family, friendship, long-held secrets and includes the all-important ingredients of forgiveness and love." --Kris Radish, author of The Shortest Distance Between Two Women

"I loved it." --Cathy Lamb, author of Such A Pretty Face

The Kiss

We always knew when Bobby Lee came home. Folks up and
down the Coal River Valley heard the roar of his motorcycle
on the gravel road long before he tore around the final bend, turning
so sharp he lay nearly sideways on the ground. Sometimes he'd
be gone weeks at a time, sometimes just a few days. But his homecoming
never changed.

He rode into the valley like a conquering hero. And Jolene, his
wife, would come flying out of their shabby cabin, long red hair
streaming behind her, just as Bobby Lee pulled into their little dirt
yard. He'd be off the huge bike in a flash as she ran down the two
broken and patched steps and into his arms. And then there would
be the kiss--scandalous for that rural West Virginia community in
the 1960s. We children would stand on our own porches or in the
road, gaping at the two of them, our mouths and eyes wide.

Usually, Reana Mae was waiting on the porch, too, but Bobby
Lee didn't notice her right off. His wife was such a whirlwind of
red curls and short skirts and hunger that their daughter--thin,
freckled, and silent--went unnoticed. After the kiss would come
gifts, if his haul had been a long one. Sometimes, Bobby Lee drove
his rig all the way from Charleston to California, and he brought
Jolene and Reana presents from places like Los Angeles and Las
Vegas. Usually a toy or coloring book for Reana. For Jolene, he
brought clothes--shocking clothes. Like the halter top and hot
pants he brought from San Francisco. Or the lime green minidress
from Chicago. Jolene strutted around like a peacock in them, while
the rest of the valley folk shook their heads and whispered to one
another over their fences and laundry lines. Jolene was the first
woman in the valley to go braless, her round, full breasts barely
contained beneath the tight T-shirts and sweaters she wore.

After the gifts and the hellos and the "What's happenin' in the
world?" talk, Jolene would send Reana Mae off to her greatgrandma's,
then disappear into the house with her husband for the
rest of the afternoon. Sometimes, Reana spent the night at her
Grandma Loreen's before Jolene remembered to come for her.
Loreen would make up Jolene's old room, and she'd fry pork chops
and boil potatoes with green beans and bacon fat like Reana
wanted, and she'd sing her the lullaby she used to sing to her own
babies. And so, on those days, Reana Mae got cherished a little bit.

Jolene wasn't from the valley, though her people were. She'd
spent most of her childhood up north in Huntington with her
mama, EmmaJane Darling. Her father, whoever he might have
been, was long gone before Jolene made her appearance at Our
Lady of Mercy Charity Hospital in Huntington. Jolene came to live
with her grandparents, Ray and Loreen, after EmmaJane died, and
she was a handful.

But Bobby Lee fell for Jolene the first time he laid his eyes on
her, the day she came to the Coal River. She was just twelve years
old then, but she looked sixteen in her tight black skirt, low-cut
blouse, and bright-red lipstick. And Bobby Lee told his little
brother, "I'm gonna marry that girl." Fiv

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Published: 02/01/2011
ISBN: 9780758253248
Pages: 312
Weight: 0.67lbs
Size: 8.26h x 5.70w x 0.90d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 10/11/2010 pg. 23
Library Journal 12/01/2010 pg. 102
Romantic Times 02/01/2011 pg. 43 - Very Good