Tore All to Pieces

Nestled in the mountains, in an out-of-the-way part of rural America, the fictional town of Mosely is home to ordinary people: proud, compassionate, and complex. Women serving biscuits at the gas station counter, nieces listening to Loretta Lynn with their uncles, teenage boys flirting with one another at prom, and parents busy raising their children's babies. This small community is woven together by family ties, church congregations, coal mines, and fast-food chains. Amidst these hills, the residents work hard to find belonging, love, and identity. _x000D_ Tore All to Pieces is a fragmented novel that delves into the lives of Appalachian characters whose struggles, backgrounds, and experiences intersect, and examines how interconnected yet lonely people can be. The different narratives, presented in the form of poems and stories, bend and weave like the roads of Appalachia. Each character's voice is richly portrayed through gripping and lyrical language, uniting in a quest for truth, genuine understanding, acknowledgement, and respect._x000D_ In a time when the rights of queer individuals, women, and people of color are increasingly under threat, this work powerfully re-affirms the humanity and significance of marginalized people. Tore All to Pieces underscores their enduring presence and rightful belonging.