Music of Falling Water
Like the soft lap of waves on a shore, this tale of a family in early 20th century Alabama gives the reader a sense of time and rhythm. Told in a gentle weave of past and present, the story opens in 1918 with a Holloway family reunion at the old homestead to resolve a startling discovery. Beneath the water wheel of the old gristmill, bones have been found. Could they be the remains of Rhoda, a sister who ran away from home fifteen years ago?
Gertrude, the eldest, and her lawyer husband from the “big city” of Felder arrive by car with the youngest sibling, Lola, who hasn’t been told the purpose of their visit. Lola adored Rhoda but was ordered to forget the early part of her life when Gertrude took her in and raised her. The homestead is kept going by Kathleen, the shy sister, her husband and two sons.
As the relationships between the sisters are rekindled, memories return to haunt them, questions are asked, and missing pieces of the family puzzle click into place, some demanding forgiveness. Once the author establishes the flow of past and present, the reader is pulled into the currents of the story with curiosity and genuine interest in the family. The final chapter brings a surprise as well as closure, but these powerful characters dwell in the reader’s mind after their story has been told.
