ŷ������

On the Savage Side shook me. It was raw. I’m now circling back to Betty, an earlier work by McDaniel, to see if this has similar sharp edges. It does.

Betty is one of 8 children. Her father is Cherokee and her mother white. They experience discrimination, mental illness, abuse and grief. The struggles and challenges of poverty due to their circumstances. A father who shares his deep roots and traditions of the Cherokee with his children through his story telling and through the connection with the land and wildlife. He is the screw that keeps this family from unhinging.

But, sometimes a dad can’t keep a family from from collapsing. Sometimes small tears turn into unmendable rips.

Betty will bend your heart with all she has witnessed. But even in that darkness, she finds hope, truth and strength.

I remain your faithful fangirl, McDaniel. You’ve blown me away with this one now, too.