"My homeland is about as ugly as a place gets. There's nothing in south Georgia, people will tell you, except straight, lonely roads, one-horse towns, sprawling farms, and tracts of planted pines. It's flat, monotonous, used-up, hotter than hell in summer and cold enough in winter that orange trees won't grow." (Chapter 2, page 13)

"We had no money and no insurance. Daddy tried to live a life of faith, which relied on miracles of God over those of doctors. God healed the sick and afflicted." (Chapter 3, page 28)

"A couple of million years ago a pine fell in love with a place that belonged to lightning. Flying past, a pine seed saw the open, flat land and grew covetous." (Chapter 4, page 35)

"A forest never tells its secrets but reveals them slowly over time, and a longleaf forest is full of secrets." (Chapter 6, page 65)

"The people were called Crackers. A possible...