Visiting Hours and Other Stories from the Heart

A touching collection of short stories rooted in the heartland -- and in the heart. The collection includes the award-winning short story Visiting Hours. Visiting Hours: Sarah is a turn-of-the-century farm wife. Her children grown, she feels the melancholy of aging and isolation, exacerbated by the death of an elderly aunt. Her brash cousin Maude insists that Sarah come with her for a visit. The tragic death of a young Negro girl and an old wives' tale prompts Maude to insist that the two cousins go to the calling for the dead girl. But what awaits them will change both their lives. Christmas 1948: Life is tough in the hills and hollers of post WWII Tennessee. It is particularly so for Cassie Mae. Her father still deals with the emotional scars of serving in the Pacific during WWII. Her mother has all she can do to keep the family clothed and fed. So at age 14, Cassie Mae tries to make Christmas special for her five younger brothers and sisters. Tending Roses: Facing failed relationships, a stalled career, and an estranged teenage daughter, a man makes an obligatory visit to see his aging aunt. As they walk through the aunt's carefully tended rose garden, he learns something of life and himself. Rabbit for Breakfast: It's the first weekend of rabbit season in the mid-1950s. A young boy and his father go to relative's house for a breakfast of fried rabbit and homemade biscuits. The boy deals with a loving aunt, a quirky uncle and an emotionally distant father. Somewhere In Time: A man faces the cruel truth of Alzheimer's. Riding the Rails: An article exploring the soul-soothing qualities of traveling by train. Sunday Morning Coming Down in New Orleans: Reflections on a trip to New Orleans seven months after Hurricane Katrina left 80% of the city underwater. Despite all the damage done, the article finds that the soul of New Orleans is still there, unchanged.