Though not perfect, I thought the book had two great qualities: one is the vivid landscapes and scenes of North Carolina. I was crushed to hear that they filmed in Romania because it looked ALMOST like, but people and production were cheaper there. Imagine!

When I drive up or down the highways that cut throught the forests here I often think of crossing paths with the soldiers who walked home, defeated, broken, sick and hungry.

I also think the book has some of the most beautiful bits of writing I've ever come across. This quote I have kept with me since reading it there:

"From any direction she came at it, the only conclusion that left her any hope of self-content was this: what she could see around her was all that she could count on. The mountains and a desire to find if she could make a satisfactory life of common things here – together they seemed to offer the promise of a more content and expansive life, though she could in no way picture even its starkest outlines. It was easy enough to say… that the path to contentment was to abide by one's own nature and follow its path. Such she believed was clearly true. But if one had not the slightest hint toward finding what one's nature was, then even stepping out on the path became a snaggy matter."

Dani