DOG DAYS AND DRAGONFLIES by Chrissie Anderson Peters

In the preface, Peters writes, “The people, places and stories presented in Dog Days and Dragonflies are, by and large, stories of my life.” This collection of short stories and poems presents a childhood in Appalachia surrounded by kin, from carefree preschool days spent with a great-grandmother with one leg to a dark day with a friend who whispers the ugly secret of child abuse. Of a young woman who tries to commit suicide to an older one who wishes nothing more than to kill her abusive husband. Of a teenager’s driving lessons with her grandfather to a mystical trip with a boyfriend to Salem, Massachusetts. From a cousin running down the ice cream truck to a young child watching her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother wrap meat. All beautifully written, many with a wistful tone, reflecting a time and place free of modern-day electronic gadgetry where families were bonded and held together through the good times and the bad.