Tim will take you on a journey that started from his earliest childhood memories from an Appalachian coal town to the time he separated from the US Army. In between that time is a tale of the turbulent sixties, the wild seventies, lost friends who were never seen again, drug and alcohol abuse, and lost love. Everybody has a story to tell, and Tim wants the reader to hear his story. Some parts of this tale will have you laughing, but some of it will give you some moments of reflection and perhaps let you ponder your own life. Why most people struggle and battle literally to carve out a place for themselves. Read about how a young boy is taken out of the mountains and thrown into a totally alien world and how he adapted. How a teenager goes from a good football player and turns into a teenage delinquent in a matter of a few months. Learn about the poor state of the military after Vietnam, plus much more. This is Tim’s tale as seen through his eyes, so hang on. It will keep you entertained, and he is sure you will love it.

Getting acquainted with local flora and fauna is the perfect way to begin to understand the wonder of nature. The natural environment of Southern Appalachia, with habitats that span the Blue Ridge to the Cumberland Plateau, is one of the most biodiverse on earth. A Literary Field Guide to Southern Appalachia—a hybrid literary and natural history anthology—showcases sixty of the many species indigenous to the region. Ecologically, culturally, and artistically, Southern Appalachia is rich in paradox and stereotype-defying complexity. Its species range from the iconic and inveterate—such as the speckled trout, pileated woodpecker, copperhead, and black bear—to the elusive and endangered—such as the American chestnut, Carolina gorge moss, chucky madtom, and lampshade spider. The anthology brings together art and science to help the reader experience this immense ecological wealth. Stunning images by seven Southern Appalachian artists and conversationally written natural history information complement contemporary poems from writers such as Ellen Bryant Voigt, Wendell Berry, Janisse Ray, Sean Hill, Rebecca Gayle Howell, Deborah A. Miranda, Ron Rash, and Mary Oliver. Their insights illuminate the wonders of the mountain South, fostering intimate connections. The guide is an invitation to get to know Appalachia in the broadest, most poetic sense.

2 Readers will get to know Tom Baker well in this unflinching, introspective, and honest account of his always-interesting life. In prose that is unadorned, sometimes ugly, but always authentic, he mixes harrowing tales of combat in Vietnam with humorous tales of growing up in the mountains of western North Carolina. He introduces readers to the friends, family members, and forces that have shaped him and his experiences. In the process, he reveals how history impacts people in ways large and small that echo for generations and across continents. His story reveals firsthand the thrills and consequences of a warrior mindset, a mindset that can lead to be trauma and enlightenment. Tom Baker is much more than just a warrior, though, and certainly not a wannabe. He is someone who has seen a lot of darkness but has not let that block out the light. —Alex Macaulay, PhD, US military historian Many people have sought solitude and inner peace in the mixed hardwood forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains. My father, Charles Woodard, also heard the call to the woods. Like Tom Baker, his mentee and friend for many years, Dad was pulled into the comforting and sometimes dangerous confines of the forest. These forests were where Tom Baker went to not only make a living but also to confront and deal with the demons of war and the struggles they bring to lives beyond war. Living life one day at a time, he searched for the inner strength to slowly, over time, remake himself, his life, and so many of the lives around him. —Dickie Woodard, former timber cutter and lifelong outdoorsman All of us have demons. Tom Baker’s memoir is moving in how transparently and unashamedly its author shares his demons with us. Here is a man who has loved and been loved, has dodged death and has dealt death, has been scared and has been lost, and has loved and been loved yet again. As you read about his life, you realize that it is not insanity that leads a former soldier and logger to run and bike and navigate through the woods at all hours of the day and night, but sanity and his need to preserve himself for himself and for those he loves. Baker tells a tale of how adventure racing, instead of helping him to outrun his demons, gave him the emotional tools to turn, face those demons, and stomp them into the ground. His example is a gift to all who know him, and his memoir is a gift to all those who will know him now through his writing. —Nate Kreuter, PhD, author and adventure racer

"Losing her father in Desert Storm has left Stephanie James a bitter soul when it comes to the military.... Brandon is an engineering major and ROTC student from the hills of easten Kentucky. Growing up with his Army major father has given Brandon a first-hand view of the struggles military families sometimes face.... When faced with the realization that she's fallen in love with a soldier, can Steph's wounds from the past be healed with love in her present..and in her future?"--[p.4] of cover.

Five Journeys Away from Life as You Know It Mark gets to know himself and his family. And learns to take unusual warnings to heart. Ella chases a lifelong dream. Never imagining the reality around the next curve. Amy takes a bittersweet trip down memory lane. And discovers the past makes its own plans. Paul celebrates a treasured best friend. Never suspecting a life-changing secret awaits. Kay’s Café serves up all kinds of comfort. But Kay wants to bring the taste of love itself back to life. Life brings constant change. Transitions we all recognize in one way or another. But sometimes those changes take us a step out of the ordinary. And into the world only glimpsed out of the corner of your eye. Join storyteller Kari Kilgore on a fantastic journey through life’s changes, and beyond. Includes five new original stories: The Perfect Shade of Haint Blue, The Road to Paradise Mountain, Amy in Wonderland, The Lightning-Struck Wood, and A Taste Just Like a Hug.