Home Free

This historical fiction novel follows Nell as she grows up in a small Georgia town in the 1940s and 1950s. Her family is both poor and dysfunctional as Nell seeks to find what she wants in life. She searches for worthiness and belonging, trying to find comfort in friends and even in God, but without success. It is a moving account of one girl's decisions as she tries to understand her world and where she fits. The reader comes to admire Nell on the very first page and cheer her on as, in the last chapter, she finally realizes that her family—which has pulled itself together at last—is where she can find what she needs.