I found this book devastating. It is written entirely in letters. I could only read a few at a time and I would set the book aside and think about Ivy.

FAIR AND TENDER LADIES chronicles the life of IVY, written in letters spanning the decades of her life,(beginning as a small child) to her various loved ones. They are written in Appalachian dialect and sometimes, I had to read it again to make certain I got the meaning.

The book paints a portrait (a very accurate portrait) of life in rural West Virginia. It could have as easily been in Kentucky. My grandmother was born in Salt Lick, Kentucky. She told many stories of growing up there. It sounds as though this book could have been written about her.

The mettle of this wonderfully human woman keeps her afloat. It's is ironic, funny, tender and engrossing; most of all totally believable. A true testament to the strength of the human spirit.