{"product_id":"holding-on-to-nothing-9781958888209","title":"Holding on to Nothing","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn rural Tennessee, two young people struggle to make a life in a town rife with poverty, guns, and alcohol.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eHolding On To Nothing\u003c\/i\u003e is a resonant song of the South, all whiskey, bluegrass, Dolly Parton, tobacco fields, and women who know better but still fall for the lowdown men whom they know will disappoint them.\"\u003cb\u003e--Lauren Groff, National Book Award finalist author of \u003ci\u003eFates and Furies\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eFlorida\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLucy Kilgore has her bags packed for her escape from her rural Tennessee upbringing, but a drunken mistake forever tethers her to the town and one of its least-admired residents, Jeptha Taylor, who becomes the father of her child. Together, these two young people work to form a family, though neither has any idea how to accomplish that, and the odds are against them in a place with little to offer other than bluegrass music, tobacco fields, and a Walmart full of beer and firearms for the hunting season. Their path is harrowing, but Lucy and Jeptha are characters to love, and readers will root for their success in a novel so riveting that no one will want to turn out the light until they know whether this family will survive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis new paperback edition features a readers' guide in the back of the book with questions for discussion and an interview with the author.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eElizabeth Chiles Shelburne\u003c\/b\u003e grew up in the Appalachian foothills of East Tennessee. A graduate of Amherst College, her writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBoston Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBroad River Review, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBarren Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, among others. Her debut novel \u003ci\u003eHolding On To Nothing\u003c\/i\u003e won an IPPY gold for Best Regional Fiction from the South and was long-listed for the Clara Johnson Award. She lives in Cambridge, MA with her husband and four children.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Blair","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50535507165458,"sku":"9781958888209","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6c7c6a9d-e7bd-41e9-99dc-57041dc08cec.jpg?v=1731438334","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/holding-on-to-nothing-9781958888209","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}