Author: Michael Cogdill
Publisher: Morgan-James  Publishing,
ISBN 978-1-60037-702-0

Click Here To Purchase She-Rain: A Story of Hope

Michael Cogdill, author of She Rain, has previously worked as a television journalist on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and even the Today Show. (2010, p.349) He was fortunate enough to interview some extremely influential people ranging from then Senator Hillary Clinton to Senator John McCain to Henry Kissinger to Reverend Billy Graham and more, netting him twenty-four Emmy’s and the National Edward R. Murrow award from broadcast achievement.  He has penned a number of other works in various genres that span from children’s books to self-help. Currently he and his wife reside in South Carolina.

She Rain is written in the dialect of her time, which begins in the early 1920’s. The story is told through the eyes of a young boy into manhood. He speaks from a southern country voice and the plot takes place in a small mill town in the mountains of North Carolina. The book opens rather poignantly diving right into heartfelt family issues of right and wrong, life and death, love and hate, and more.

Most of the town’s people work in the mill or have had their lives touched by the mill in some way. Mill work, and perhaps tobacco farming, is why the town exists at all. These persons who work in, and around, the mill, work long hours for little pay and under less that good circumstances. The rule in this locale is that the vast majority of the people has little to no education and little to no life outside of work and caring for their families as best they can. They merely muddle through life hoping that somehow the next generation might have it better. 

There is much mystery and conjecture surrounding the owners of the mill as they are one of the rare rich and educated families in this village. The family how owns the mill are known by their community for standing a little apart and not participating in many community functions. They have good reason to stick to themselves in this racially divided community. Years ago they adopted a little black girl. She is well educated and well traveled because their life afforded her privileges that not many others could ever begin to grasp.  The towns people have made up stories about this affluent family just for the sake of gossip. There are few people who actually have the inside track on them and one is the local minister who keeps his mouth shut on such matters.

The actual plot of this story transpires across multiple generations and provides the reader with insight and advice that is handed down from one generation to the next. There are skeletons in these family closets that slowly seep out and provide the towns folk with endless sources of renewed gossip and entertainment for the reader. These detail filled glimpses into these poor, hard working, lives fills the reader with angst and sorrow, but also a sense of wonderment, hope, joy, and fulfillment.

She Rain draws the reader in and provides them drive and desire to see how each of the characters eventually grows and unfolds. It is absolutely addictive. I literally found it hard to put down, but noticed that some parts required a little reflection on self in order to endure the next tragedy or moment of elation the characters moved through.

The hardships they, the characters, endure and overcome portray an almost foreign life compared to the modern America we now reside in, at least for the most part. There is a lot of love, a wealth of devotion, and mixed family ties that is spun together creating life’s fine yarn in this magnificently told tale. Because this book is set early on in the nineteenth century there are many race related issues or racial undertones that shape the time and set the tone for some scenes that follow. These same scenes also provide avenues for personal growth and understanding on behalf of the characters in this novel. The rich palate of diverse personalities almost feels like you, the reader, are in the scenes following along with them, experiencing the twists and turns beside them. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to feel better about things in their life.

Click Here To Purchase She-Rain: A Story of Hope