If the Creek Don't Rise

Written by Leah Weiss

Narrated by Kate Forbes and Tom Stechschulte

He's gonna be sorry he ever messed with me and Loretta Lynn.

Sadie Blue has been a wife for fifteen days. That's long enough to know she should have never hitched herself to Roy Tupkin, even with the baby.

Sadie is desperate to make her own mark on the world, but in remote Appalachia, a ticket out of town is hard to come by and hope often gets stomped out. When a stranger sweeps into Baines Creek and knocks things off kilter, Sadie finds herself with an unexpected lifeline … if she can just figure out how to use it.

Fans of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek will love this intimate insight into a fiercely proud, tenacious community and relish the voices of the forgotten folks of Baines Creek.

With a colorful cast of characters and a flair for the Southern Gothic, If the Creek Don't Rise is a debut novel bursting with heart, honesty, and homegrown grit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781501959899

Leah Weiss

Leah Weiss, PhD, is a researcher, professor, consultant, and author. She teaches courses on compassionate leadership at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and is principal teacher and founding faculty for Stanford’s Compassion Cultivation Program, conceived by the Dalai Lama. She also directs Compassion Education and Scholarship at HopeLab, an Omidyar Group research and development nonprofit focused on resilience. She lives in Palo Alto, California with her husband and three children.

Reviews for If the Creek Don't Rise

[Adriane Guzman · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was ok. The beginning was great. But somewhere in the middle to end when the stories to turn the men was disappointing. And the end saved it. All the characters lived in the same town but they didn’t connect very well beyond that.

[Susan Cosgrove Bishop · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Not usually a lover or creepy, scary but this one had heart.

[Crystal Cruz Barnhill · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Wasn't impressed. Started off good but lost my attention. Finished it but disappointed. Guessed outcome early on without the unneeded fluff in the middle. Wanted something more between the characters.

[Jackie Fielding · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed listening to this book, it was well written and kept my attention but would have liked the characters to have been connected better. The ending felt like it left a lot of lose ends.

[irenecole · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Set in the 1970s in a small settlement called Baines Creek, this is mainly the story of Sadie Blue, a 17 year old Appalachian girl in an abusive marriage. Told from multiple points of view including Sadie herself, the preacher and his spinster sister, her grandma who survived her own abusive marriage and the new school teacher Kate who befriends her. The town may be tiny but the kindness of some of it's inhabitants is huge as they try to bring a bit of comfort to those in need. Not to say that all is sweetness and light here because there are certainly some characters I loved to hate! Many characters also have their own back stories going on which add a lot of heart and drama to this mesmerizing story.


I received an advance copy for review

[dara85 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sadie is seventeen and pregnant, living in the hills of North Carolina. She marries the father of her baby and he beats most nights.A new teacher, Kate Shaw, has come to hills, she finds the area backward and full of quirky characters such as Birdie Rocas, who has a crow for a pet.Then there is Prudence Perkins, an old maid sister to Rev. Eli Perkins. She is unhappy that her brother is so welcoming to Kate Shaw. She is so much against her brother's happiness with the school teacher that she steals one of Kate's letters from the post office. She hopes to get the dirt on Miss Shaw.Join these Characters as each tells the story of the Appalachian town of Baines Creek from their point of view.

[kbranfield-837433 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars.

If the Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss is a gritty yet incredibly poignant character study of Appalachian life. With most of chapters written from different characters' points of view,  this debut novel offers an in-depth peek into the various people living in the fictional town of Baines Creek, NC.

The starting point of the story is pregnant Sadie Blue and her brand-new marriage to Roy Tupkin. Taken in by the charm that belies his true nature, Sadie discovers the violent truth about her husband right away as he takes his frustrations out on her with shocking brutality. Her Granny Gladys Hicks offers no help other than a temporary place to stay but Sadie does find warmth and compassion with her Granny's neighbor and friend Marris Jones.  Hope for her future arrives with outsider Kate Shaw, the town's new teacher and Sadie eagerly accepts the newcomer's offer to teach her to read.

The fictional town of Baines Creek serves as a character in the story as well as the novel's setting. These small, rural towns tend to be extremely insular where everyone knows each other's business and gossip abounds. Despite this knowledge about both the good and bad things that are occuring in their neighbor's lives, the prevailing attitude tends to be more of a live and let live as friends and family turn a blind eye to abuse and criminal activity. The perfect example of this is Sadie's situation with Roy.  There is not a single person in Baines Creek who is unaware he is beating her but, with very few exceptions, no one steps in to help her. Yet if an outsider tries to intervene, the townspeople immediately close ranks in order to protect the person under threat. They are also quick to rally around one another when disaster strikes.

There is also an underlying sense of inevitability and hopelessness within families. This is certainly the case with Sadie's Granny Gladys.  She has firsthand experience with her granddaughter's situation, yet she never extends her a helping hand. When Gladys is confronted with Sadie's bruises and beaten down countenance, there is a pervasive sense of "you've made your bed and now you must lie in it". Gladys remains passive and without empathy for Sadie's plight as she fails to even bring up Roy's abusive treatment of her pregnant granddaughter.

For much of the novel, readers have no idea when the story is taking place. This omission feels deliberate since an exact time period is somewhat irrelevant due to the fact time tends to stand still in rural or isolated areas such as Baines Creek. A few clues are dropped as the story unfolds that are helpful in narrowing down an approximate year but this sense of timelessness remains even after the specific time frame is eventually revealed.

If the Creek Don't Rise is a heartbreaking yet occasionally uplifting debut from Leah Weiss . This deeply affecting novel is a compelling and sometimes stark portrayal of Appalachian life. The story comes a somewhat abrupt but immensely satisfying conclusion and readers will revel in the healthy dose of poetic justice that is served to those who so richly deserve it.

[lyndainoregon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'd really like to give this book more stars, but that would require me to overlook some very big problems.

As a first novel about a small Appalachian community and the people in it, including new bride Sadie Blue whose sadistic husband is making her life hell, the new teacher from "outside", the preacher, the witchy-woman, and others, it presents an engaging story and generally well-drawn characters. The Bad Guy in the story, however, is essentially a straw man. Roy Tupkin is unreservedly and disgustingly bad ... ignorant, bigoted, vicious, whining, overbearing, unsanitary... you name it, Roy represents it.

Weiss does a good job with most of the other characters, but definitely needs help with plotting and pacing. There are some continuity problems; one in particular has such an unlikely/impossible timeline that the reader is abruptly yanked out of the story to try to figure out how it could possibly have come about. There are also some bobbles in the dialect used.

Admittedly, writing dialect is an extremely tricky technique. Too much and the story crawls to a molasses pace as the reader attempts to figure out what is meant by phonetically-spelled patois ... "Arr yawl gwine yonder fer the playparty?", or all the characters, regardless of their social status or supposed educational background, speak like Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey.

The rotating first-person narrator format makes this particularly noticeable. Only Kate Shaw, the disgraced college professor who comes to the holler to re-open the school, has a distinct voice. Her story is well-begun and interestingly drawn but just sort of dribbles off into the distance without resolution.

As a first novel, it is mildly entertaining. One could hope for a bit more polish and cohesion in future works.

[kglattstein · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The writing and characters were engaging. The stories of the characters and their perspectives was interesting. Each individual voice brought you closer to the lives of people in remote Appalachia. However, I was disappointed with the number of loose threads of the stories of people whose lives were intertwined, yet I wish the author would of circled around and connected them more.

[twileteyes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this but I also felt like there were a lot of side stories that just disappeared. Each new narrator would go back and retell part of the story from their point of view then move the story along for the next narrator to take over, but a lot of them had their own unique stories that I wanted to know more of!

[hobbitprincess · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book I've read recently about Appalachia. Like the other one, the stereotypes in this book are disturbing. I married into a very old Appalachian family, and I know the area very well. There is so much grace and beauty in that area, and I don't often see it represented in novels. I know that stories like Sadie's - married young and abused - really do happen, but it is not the norm. Nor are abusive men the norm, as this book would have the reader believe. There are some very educated and hardworking people in the mountains, plus people who do value education, and there always have been. I did enjoy the character of Birdie Rocus. She has a wealth of wisdom that needs to be shared more. I was interested to see the hunt for ginseng ("sang" I've heard it called) being included in the book, plus there was a mention of ramps. Not many people know what those are (the food kind, not the car kind). All of that said, when Ms. Weiss comes out with another book, I would be very interested in reading it.

[creighley_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It doesn’t take Sadie Blue very long to realize that She made a big mistake marrying Roy Tupkin. He’s mean and drinks way too much. Sadie has dreams but the reality of her existence with Roy and being in Appalachia wears her down. When the new teacher comes to town, Sadie realizes that things might just be possible.

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If the Creek Don’t Rise by Leah Weiss is a 2017 Sourcebooks Landmark publication. Outstanding novel of feminine strength, southern grit, and escape-I knew this book might be difficult, that some passages would be painful, but, I also couldn’t escape the feeling this book was important, powerful, and not to be missed. What I never expected from this novel, though, was the atmosphere. I was taken completely off guard by the author’s writing and the presentation, which gives the story a Faulkner-like Southern Gothic undertone, something that always appeals to me. The novel is set high up in the Appalachian Mountains, in the 1970’s, and is centered around a young pregnant woman named Sadie Blue, who after only two weeks of marriage as discovered her husband, Roy, is the devil incarnate. As Sadie struggles to fight her way out of her dire circumstances, the novel goes on to feature the voices of other residents in this extremely small, impoverished community. Potent characters such as Sadie’s grandmother, Gladys, and the new teacher, Kate, tell their own story, all of them interconnecting to the current situation with Sadie, and the disappearance of a stripper named Darlene who may have been involved with Sadie’s husband. Each voice heard is a short story or vignette, of its own, which rounds out and deepens the impressions of the time frame, and the mindset of the folks in this harsh, isolated land. Each personality that emerged gave me a fresh look at how limited these people and their recourses were. There is a mystery to solve, conflicts to overcome, but overall, this is a story that highlights the inner strength these characters, especially the women, manifested under extreme duress, as well as the juxtapositions of the character’s personalities- such as Marris/ Prudence. Morris is a shining light, as opposed to Prudence’s bitterness and to some extent, Gladys’s saltiness. Kate is smart, and makes an immediate impact, is very bold and helpful, but her lack of Appalachian savvy could come back to haunt her if she isn’t given some prudent advice, perhaps from Birdie’s book of truths. Some storylines float around with no real follow-up, but serve to give us insight into the community, the dialect and vernacular, various conflicted emotions and circumstances, as well as highlighting the obvious poverty, and lack of basic education, which can keep people trapped in a vicious cycle or force them to take drastic measures, in the name of self – preservation, or escape. There is much to ponder within the pages of this novel, due to all those vivid characterizations and descriptions which created a powerful, intense drama, steeped in country traditions and lovely, but heartbreaking poignancy. The conclusion was slightly abrupt, but packs a hefty punch, which left me slack jawed and stunned, at first, but ultimately, I must confess, I loved it. Overall, the novel is a nice piece of rich southern literature. It’s Loretta Lynn soundtrack provides a nice, and appropriate backdrop to the harsh, lush darkness of the tale, with it’s lacing of black humor sprinkled in here and there, which pays homage to the land, to the people, and to a genre of fiction that is all too rare these days. This is quite an impressive debut, which honored and respected the time and place, and vividly created unforgettable characters who will remain in my mind and heart for a long time to come. 5 stars

[relativelybooktastic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“I’m tired, Daddy. Wore out. Roy Tupkin don’t just beat me, he beats me down. Let me rest a spell. I don’t know if I can lift my head just yet.”

IF THE CREEK DON’T RISE by LEAH WEISS is well written novel that pulls at your heart strings and keeps your attention from the very beginning.

Baines Creek is a town where town gossip is number one entertainment. until the day Kate Shaw, the out of town teacher that decides to start fresh in Baines creek. Kate made few friends upon arrival but also made an enemy(spiteful prudence perkins) . Kate immediately becomes engaged in the well beings of all residents of Baine creek especially Sadie blue.

Sadie Blue , 17 years old , pregnant and married for 15 days to Roy tupkin. A good for nothing drunk who beats on Sadie any chance he gets.
Sadie Blue is a huge fan of Loretta Lynn and thru her music she finds strength to carry on even though she can not read . she loves to look at anything that features Loretta lynn.

Throughout the book we get several persepctibes of the storyline leading up to a dramatic ending.
This book I would highly recommended. Leigh Weiss is an author to watch out for . I would glady read more from her. She lets the reader in on such a touchy subject without it being overbearing.

I got this book from Netgally for my honest feedback.

[readingrebecca · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I would read anything written by Leah Weiss! I was so totally into this book. Ms. Weiss told a story involving many characters and handled each one perfectly. I hope she has another book coming out soon.

[peggydean-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Like the pieces of a patchwork quilt, Weiss uses narratives from an isolated community to wrap the reader in Appalachian culture. Although domestic violence drives many of the events of the book, this is a multi-layered story where hope and compassion are also allowed to exist. I loved the unfolding of each character's backstory and the glimpses into their needs and desires. Weiss's writing is luminous and filled with respect for her characters; in this, she stands among the long tradition of Appalachian storytellers. I'll be eagerly waiting for another novel by Weiss. This novel should find a ready audience given the continuing popularity of Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance.

[debkrenzer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The blurb was correct on this very entertaining book. I did get way down deep with my feelings for the characters and the setting of this book.I really feel as though the author did a great job with the characters and making me feel as though I was really there in those hollers and mountains. The dialect used for the characters just really brought it all together.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Sad that the women had to "take things into their own hands" to get rid of their problems.Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story is set in 1970 in Baines Creek, a fictional mountain settlement in Appalachia. This is a place of “catastrophic poverty,” an isolated community, as newcomer Kate Shaw observes: “a parallel existence, backward from the civilized world that has morphed into the modern day, leaving these people behind.”Kate has come at the request of Preacher Eli Perkins, who is seeking a teacher for Baines Creek. Many in the community (not just the children) cannot read or write. Kate leaves her relatively comfortable life in Asheville because she was “looking for a place to matter.” She finds it in this troubled community.She is greeted upon her arrival by two of the residents who typify many in Baines Creek. One is Sadie Blue, ignorant but good-hearted, and as the story begins, newly married to Roy Tupkin, who beats her almost every day, for no reason she can discern: “I figure Roy don’t need a reason no more.”The other is Prudence Perkins, Preacher Eli’s sister, bitter and addled with hate, resentment, and jealousy. Prudence finds anyone else's happiness anathema to her, and does what she can to ruin it.Some of the good women of the town try to look after Sadie, knowing she is in danger by being with Roy. Sadie's gran, Gladys, won't help: Gladys had a husband who beat her, and can't bear seeing a reminder of that with Sadie. Gran’s best friend Marris was lucky in her own marriage, but fears both for Sadie and Gladys. She tries to get Gladys to understand her rage at Sadie. Sadie finds occasional refuge at Kate’s cottage, where Kate, along with her neighbor Birdie, “midwife, medicine woman, and storywriter for these parts,” help to care for Sadie after she is beaten.Tensions mount as the beatings increase in frequency, and as Prudence decides to get rid of Kate. Prudence is incensed because her brother Eli likes talking to Kate, a situation which threatens to take his attention away from her. There is also a girl missing from a neighboring area, who, it was rumored, was the latest obsession of Roy Tupkin. Is she even still alive?Meanwhile, after two and half months being legally wedded to Roy, Sadie vows that “Roy beat up on me for the last time and don’t even know it.” Roy and his best friend Billy go hunting, and while they are gone, Sadie contemplates spiking his private stash of moonshine with poison. She doesn’t like the idea of killing someone, and prays:“Sweet Jesus, help me. I promise to be good after this. All I want is to not get beat up. Find my special life. Life up to my potential. Read by myself. Kill Roy Tupkin.” She tells her cat “We won’t live scared. Won’t watch for the kick of that man’s boot. . . . Oh, merciful Lord, please make my plan work.”But events turned out much differently than Sadie anticipated. And now she has to make a choice.Evaluation: A book about poverty, despair, and women stuck in marriages in which they get beaten regularly isn’t exactly a happy experience, but this is a good story, and the ending is both surprising and rewarding.

[bookofsecrets · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A 1970s Appalachian mountain town is brought to life through the alternating first-person voices of Leah Weiss’ characters. Several different people speak about the happenings in Baines Creek, North Carolina, though the common thread throughout most of the book is Sadie Blue, a pregnant teenage bride in an abusive marriage.I have mixed feelings about this book. I thought the writing was beautiful, and I especially enjoyed the folksy dialect of the characters. The lives of Baines Creek’s locals are hard and heartbreaking, and it was easy to empathize with them. What I didn’t like was the incomplete feeling I have after finishing. We’re introduced to several characters whose stories are left up in the air. Even with Sadie Blue’s story, there wasn’t a strong, cohesive plot linking everything together.IF THE CREEK DON’T RISE is Leah Weiss’ debut novel, and she already has a talent for drawing readers in with her intriguing characterizations. Looking forward to seeing where she goes next.Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[kimkimkim-7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Have you ever read a book, seen a movie, or watched a play that made you shift in your seat because what you were reading, seeing, hearing made you so uncomfortable you couldn’t keep your body still? Leah Weiss’ book IF the Creek Don’t Rise had that effect on me. This book was horrifying in its simple descriptions of how cruel men can be to women, women can be to other women, women can be to outsiders. It was also uplifting in its descriptions of those that see the destruction, hurt, and pain and try to heal, cure and protect.

“It’s the same tired story these hills hear a million times.” Written in the vernacular of Baines Creek, a mountain town in Appalachia, the story is told from the viewpoints of all the major characters. I fell in love with Sadie Blue, Marris Jones, Birdie Rocas and Kate Shaw. I found it disturbing that I could feel such extreme antipathy toward Roy Tupkin, Billy Barnhill and Prudence Perkins. The author states in her notes; “No detail was too small to bring authenticity to Baines Creek residents in 1970”. Those details made the story live for me and evinced strong emotions. Great writing, fabulous ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC.

[iadam-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received a free advance e-copy of this book and have chosen to write an honest and unbiased review. I have no personal affiliation with the author. A very honest look at life in Appalachia. These are desperate people with desperate lives and buried secrets who live a life of extreme poverty in isolation from the outside world until a strong and kind stranger comes to the area. This stranger is the new schoolteacher who sort of “upsets the apple cart.” This is a very well written book with well developed and true to life characters and an appropriate plot. The mood, living conditions, and language are genuine for Appalachia. I couldn’t put it down. The author lets us see all sides of life in Appalachia, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I was happy to see Sadie finally come out on top at the end. There are some very interesting characters some of which are despicable and others very likeable. This book is well worth the read and I look forward to reading more from Leah Weiss in the future.

[carolee888 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved, loved, loved If The Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss. Generations back, my mother's family lived in Kentucky and Tennessee and I suspected that many of their handed down beliefs and folk medicine even some of the language are the same. One of the beliefs that is strong in this book is the same that was told to me and grandmother told my mother. It was "You have made your bed and you can never return home." Therefore, no divorces, that was immoral. But there are things that are worse than divorce that they are in this book.Set in the beautiful mountains of Appalachia, the grim truth of poverty prevails. Poverty that is starker than in the cities. The preacher''s daughter uses a string to hold one of her shoes together. The characters in this book were well developed. For example, the preacher skips lectures on religion to gorge himself on ice cream with his friend.The book is told in first person for all the main characters. The details are rich enough to justify a series. Sadie, a pregnant girl who lives in an unprotected world finally has had enough and will get even with her husband. Wife beating is common but people often think there is nothing that you can do about it. Often the scars of poverty and neglect are also viewed as a way of life with no remedy.I highly recommend this book to all people who want to learn about Appalachia.I received this Advanced Reading Copy by making a selection from Amazon Vine books but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review. I also posted this review only on sites meant for reading not for selling.

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Baines Creek, high up in the Appalachian mountain, a poor place filled with impoverished people, a place where moonshine is king. A different style for the story telling in this as we hear from many of the people in this town and Sadie Blues own story is woven through the fabric of theirs. A very young, newly married pregnant woman, she vows her no good moonshining husband has beaten her for the last time. A preacher who hires a very different kind of woman than is usually found in these parts. A sister who is afraid of losing her brother and Sadie's grandmother and aunt, all tell their stories adding to Sadie's own. A young woman goes missing and has the town both fearful and wondering.Gritty, southern story telling, these are tough people leading hard scrabbled lives. It is hard not to hope that Sadie will manage to overcome her misfortune and find some hope and success in creating a new and better life. She is the character we come to know the best, though just enough of the other characters stories are revealed to give us a glimpse of how and why they are living as they do now. A first novel from a promising and insightful new author. Her writing reminds me of the author [author:Amy Greene|1256071].ARC from Netgalley.Publishes August 8th by Sourcebooks Landmark.

[slevyr26 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

THIS BOOK.I loved this. Adored it. Want it/need it to be ten times as long as it currently is.This book was like the literary equivalent of warmth and comfort. I didn't find this novel to be sad at all. I found it to be full of hope and love, full of people looking to better themselves in a place where betterment of oneself was typically frowned upon. The characters are three-dimensional and real, from sweet Sadie to curmudgeonly old Prudence, the situations - some very somber and heartwrenching - felt real, and I felt so much passion for the people of Baines Creek and the town itself. 1970s Appalachia doesn't sound overly appealing on the off, but Leah Weiss made it so. The place had a heart as big as Sadie Blue and Aunt Marris.I have but one criticism: to me, it ended abruptly and somewhat predictably (though regardless, the scenario was perfect) and I felt the reader could have been given so much more. What happens to Miss Shaw and Preacher Perkins? What happens to everybody else!? I'm dying to know, I would love for there to be a sequel or some kind of continuation.Thank you so much to Netgalley, Leah Weiss and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this in advance.

[tamarack804-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If The Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss is a story set in a mountain community called Baines Creek (Appalachia) North Carolina during the 70's.Baines Creek is a backwoods community that civilization has not completely caught up with and tells of the hard life during this time period. Each chapter has different characters and tells their stories. The book for me was hard to read because of the dialect given each of the characters which were many. I would not read another book by this author since I am not into reading this type of book. The book was quite different than I thought it would be by its discription. Readers who like reading about the Appalachia valley I'm sure will enjoy this book. Thanks Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.