{"product_id":"god-of-river-mud-paperback","title":"God of River Mud - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eVic Sizemore\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGrappling with innate desires and LGBTQ identity, a family struggles under the oppressive expectations foisted on them by fundamentalist Christianity.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Told through alternating perspectives, \u003ci\u003eGod of River Mud\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles the lives of Berna Minor, her husband, their four children, and Berna's secret lover. \u003cp\u003e To escape a life of poverty and abuse, Berna Cannaday marries Zechariah Minor, a fundamentalist Baptist preacher, and commits herself to his faith, trying to make it her own. After Zechariah takes a church beside the Elk River in rural Clay, West Virginia, Berna falls in love with someone from their congregation--Jordan, a woman who has known since childhood that he was meant to be a man. Berna keeps her secret hidden as she struggles to be the wife and mother she believes God wants her to be. Berna and Zechariah's children struggle as well, trying to reconcile the theology they are taught at home with the fast-changing world around them. And Jordan struggles to find a community and a life that allow him both to be safely and fully himself, as Jay, and to be loved for who he is. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e As the decades and stories unfold, traditional evangelical Bible culture and the values of rural Appalachia clash against innate desires, LGBTQ identity, and gender orientation. Sympathies develop--sometimes unexpectedly--as the characters begin to reconcile their faith and their love. \u003ci\u003eGod of River Mud\u003c\/i\u003e delves into the quandary of those marginalized and dehumanized within a religious patriarchy and grapples with the universal issues of identity, faith, love, and belonging. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Told through alternating perspectives, \u003ci\u003eGod of River Mud\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles the lives of Berna Minor, her husband, their four children, and Berna's secret lover. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e To escape a life of poverty and abuse, Berna Cannaday marries Zechariah Minor, a fundamentalist Baptist preacher, and commits herself to his faith, trying to make it her own. After Zechariah takes a church beside the Elk River in rural Clay, West Virginia, Berna falls in love with someone from their congregation--Jordan, a woman who has known since childhood that he was meant to be a man. Berna keeps her secret hidden as she struggles to be the wife and mother she believes God wants her to be. Berna and Zechariah's children struggle as well, trying to reconcile the theology they are taught at home with the fast-changing world around them. And Jordan struggles to find a community and a life that allow him both to be safely and fully himself, as Jay, and to be loved for who he is. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e As the decades and stories unfold, traditional evangelical Bible culture and the values of rural Appalachia clash against innate desires, LGBTQ identity, and gender orientation. Sympathies develop--sometimes unexpectedly--as the characters begin to reconcile their faith and their love. \u003ci\u003eGod of River Mud\u003c\/i\u003e delves into the quandary of those marginalized and dehumanized within a religious patriarchy and grapples with the universal issues of identity, faith, love, and belonging. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eVic Sizemore is the author of the essay collection \u003ci\u003eGoodbye, My Tribe: An Evangelical Exodus\u003c\/i\u003e and the short story collection \u003ci\u003eI Love You I'm Leaving\u003c\/i\u003e. His writing has been published in \u003ci\u003eStoryQuarterly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNorth American Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSouthern Humanities Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003estorySouth\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePANK Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, and many other journals.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 424\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.77 x 8.32 x 5.62 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 01, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51759081226528,"sku":"9781959000020","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/a1f2487cdc781f19ac954bf2b35c41f7.webp?v=1780142078","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/god-of-river-mud-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}