Last Trip Home: A Story of an Arkansas Farm Girl

By: Wanda Maureen Miller

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: &“Who do you thank you are, the Quane of Anglund?&” That&’s what Grace Marie&’s father used to say to her whenever he thought she was getting out of her place. In her fifties now, Grace Marie is a college professor living in a beach town in California, and when she gets a phone call telling her that her father is dead, she is glad. She hopes her return for his funeral will be her &“last trip home.&” As a young girl Grace Marie struggled to escape from poverty, her father's lecherous, controlling grip, and a husband in the Klan. Determined to get an education, she clawed her way to a comfortable life and a home with indoor toilets—but her most unexpected struggle turned out to be survivor&’s guilt, so she kept returning home to &“fix&” her family and the sharecropper shack. After her father&’s funeral, Grace Marie burns down the family home—only to discover that she has unexpected ties to both the land and the people in her community. She realizes she will never have a &“last trip home.&”