Gologirl

A Western-Kentucky girl at heart. Love my family and pushing my stories into the world. Currently, polishing and revising "Blind Ain't No Color," a 120K Historical/Upmarket novel inspired by true events along the Clarks River in the Western Kentucky tobacco fields and hollers.

At 21, Eula Elsie Manning seeks a better life than working sun-up to sun-down in Golo's western dark-fired tobacco fields. When God doesn't answer her prayers, she defies God's words against soothsayers to seek her fortune. Years later, when three blind children are born into the fold of ten children with the Reverend, she realizes all the washing in the Clark's River will never rid her dirty sinful curse from disobeying the Lord's words.

Since their remote school house doesn’t offer blind instruction, the farmland becomes Eula's spit-fire determination to outrun this heart-hidden curse, to teach their sightless children's tobacco setting and daily farm chores as classroom instruction.

A miracle occurs when Mrs. Eula and the Reverend send Autie, 13, by train to Kentucky's Institute of the Blind (the third state-supported U.S. school for the blind) during the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic. When Mrs. Eula flees their homestead to care for Autie who is stricken with the flu, she meets Susan B. Merwin, the second U.S. woman superintendent of a blind state school, and discovers Autie is missing with Griffo Collins, a young, musically talented man, who was reported in the 1915 Courier-Journal as expelled from the school for misconduct. Mrs. Eula struggles with the decision to either leave her daughter at the school, or take her home to Golo.

Told in the first person voices of Mrs. Eula, Autie, her blind daughter, Griffo, a young rebellious man searching for love, and Thomas, the town’s train conductor, the story spans over fifty years, unveiling answers to unseen prayers.

Blind Ain’t No Color came to me after the childhood summers I spent in the tobacco fields roaming Golo's countryside, riding in the backseat of Grandma's Ford LTD with my late Grandma Orene and Great Aunt Jessie. Through humorous descriptions, listening to our family's hardships mimicked voices of gossip, deciphering Grandma's lifelong journals, The Kentucky School For The Blind family documentation, research in the 1914 and 1915 Courier-Journal and Library of Congress Music copyrights, brought this vivid story-- describing how three blind children survived along a rural--no special need children's educational barrier backdrop.

Member statistics

Reaction score
0
Location
Kentucky
Name
Sherry Newsome-Purdom
Occupation
Author/30-Year PR Professional

Trophies

  1. 500

    2 Year Member

    You've been a member for 2 years!
  2. 250

    1 Year Member

    You've been a member for 1 year!
  3. 20

    Happy Cinco de Mayo!

  4. 20

    Upvoter

    You upvoted a post!
  5. 20

    Happy Oktoberfest!

    You logged in on Oktoberfest!
  6. 10

    Welcome Back

    You just logged in for the second time. Welcome back!
  7. 20

    Profile Poster

    You created your first profile post!
  8. 20

    Nice to See You!

    You uploaded an avatar!