Refuge

By Dot Jackson

“Refuge is a wonderful story about the need to find one’s place in the world—and the price paid to remain there. With her narrative gift and keen ear for Appalachian speech, Dot Jackson gives her readers a beautifully rendered portrait of a lost time and place.” —Ron Rash, author of Serena and The Cove

Early one morning in 1929, Mary Seneca Steele spontaneously packs a suitcase, gathers up her son and daughter, and steals away in her abusive and dissolute husband’s brand new Auburn Phaeton automobile leaving her privileged life in Charleston behind. It is the beginning of a journey of enlightenment that leads Mary “Sen” to the mountains and mysteries of Appalachia where she will learn unexpected family secrets, create a new life for herself and her children, and finally experience love and happiness before tragedy will once again test her.

Written by an authentic Southern voice, Dot Jackson has spun a story that will captivate readers looking for an entertaining saga of self-discovery, family, love, loss and redemption.

Review quotes:

“With its descriptions of the hardships of rural mountain life in an historical setting and a strong Southern woman survivor theme, this new voice in Appalachian fiction echoes Robert Morgan (Gap Creek) and Charles Frazier… Amidst family dramas of life and death, love interests, storms, and deprivation, this regional tale with a thick local accent develops into an entertaining saga. It should find an appreciative audience in Southern fiction fans.” —Library Journal

“Refuge is an intensely readable novel of the complexity of family ties—the struggle of a strong woman through the odyssey back to her roots. Dot Jackson is a true Southern voice, a master storyteller and an Appalachian treasure.”—Dori Sanders, author of Clover and Her Own Place

“Exceptionally well-written, Refuge is very strongly recommended for the readers seeking a vivid tale of love, intimacy, fate, and an evocative mystery.”—Midwest Book Review

“What a glorious event is the publication of this beautiful novel by Dot Jackson, one of the most gifted souls who ever breathed the sweet air of Appalachia. In Refuge she confirms the verity that the love we give, whether to place, people or other creatures, is all the shelter we need.” —Jerry Bledsoe, author of Bitter Blood and Before He Wakes

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diversion Books
• Release date: Dec 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781635763423

Reviews for Refuge

[marient7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mary Seneca Steele, a proper Charlstonian, escapes her stifling marriage to a 'mama's' boy and , with her children, Pet and Hugh, heads to the North Carolina hills and the community that her father was part of. She begins a new life.

[cataylor_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Born into Charleston society, Mary Seneca Steele is devastated by the loss of her father at a young age. His stories and music from his childhood in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina were what made her childhood magical. After her marriage becomes unbearable, Mary Sen takes her children and husband's new car and sets off to find the family she knows from her father's tales. Waiting for her in NC is a way of life she seems born for. She is drawn into a family that loves and supports, but ultimately seems destined for disaster as history keeps repeating itself. The dialect and description of this hard scrabble life as the Great Depression and World Wars change the world come to life in Dot Jackson's capable hands. Long after the last page, these people and this place will stay with you. I came by this book late, but I cannot recommend it any higher.