Lori Goff

Spirits Walking: Stories of Appalachia Lori Goff

In Spirits Walking, Lori Goff's short stories weave family relationships in a special blend of love, faith and the simple life dating back more than seventy-five years. The stories convey the hardships in a rural area, the life lessons learned, and the closeness people felt with nature in the hills and hollows of northeastern Kentucky. Goff shows the special relationship shared between grandmother and grandaughter, using dialect of the time and place. One will remember the wisdom of Starr and innocence of Maggie after reading their stories. Starr finds acceptance of her friend's death in "it's her soul a-packin up and gettin ready to join her Maker" and "God wasn't ready to call you up" to explain the miracle of life; Maggie responds to Clay's gentle voice with "it's like the hills wrap around me." Both women find solace in their parting, knowing "we'll pass, you, me, through the seasons as we do every year."