The Eighth Story Mountain of Blood and Tears


Book Description

I am a survivor even though I have had to suffer hell most of my life. I lost all my family in childhood and of all things, I have even lost three children by death. One son committed suicide, and another son died of alcoholism. My thirteen month old baby girl died of a heart defect. Even so, I have managed to live through the tragedies and traumas I listed below IF you don't drink and are still haunted by alcohol and think you have been through hell or feel like you have been locked into hell, and abandoned by God, this book is for YOU IF you too feel like you have been a failure and a victim soul that climbed that EIGHTH STORY MOUNTAIN OF BLOOD AND TEARS don't give up IF, a mesa-mess like myself can survive, and be positive and happy, believe me, YOU CAN TOO IF as a child you were continually shipped out to only God knows where, and Santa Claus didn't ever come, and you continually lost your identity this book is for YOU IF you have felt unloved, didn't have a mother, father or any other family and have been named PIG in your childhood, and told that you are UGLY, this book is for YOU IF you have been molested and physically abused by your father or mother this book is for YOU IF you are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or whatever this book is for YOU I have survived all those things mentioned above. And I have finally found joy, peace and love with the help of Fr. Louis (Thomas) Merton) OCSO, Fr. Chrysogonus Waddell OCSO, Fr. Michael Casagram OCSO, Br. Chrysostom Castel OCSO, Fr. Joachim Johnson OCSO, and other monks of Our Lady of Gethsemani Monastery, in Trappist, Kentucky. www.eighthstorymountain.com




The Tears That Flow Into The Kanawha River


Book Description

"The Tears that Flow into the Kanawha River" is about a man named Leon Breckenridge who relives his life about his experiences as an African American man living in a segregated community by the Kanawha River, before advancing to desegregation. Leon recalls the people who set the foundation for his trials, pains, failures, triumphs, and success. He writes about his younger years in the 1960s and thereon when his father put a 38-pistol to his head, and his mother suffering from mental illness. He takes us back to the 1960s when black and brown people protest for equality. People riot and hurt each other while vandalizing properties. Leon shares stories about living in Massachusetts and the people he met along the way that made an impact in his life. He gains strength due to his faith in Jesus Christ. Leon Breckenridge is a Vietnam Veteran who resides in Massachusetts with his family. After he retired, he decided to write an autobiography to share his life stories living in Montgomery West Virginia as a young boy during time of racial tension. One of the many concerns Leon carried over the years are the demolition of Simmons High School that was a historic Black school and the destruction of the African American cemetery where the bones of the slaves had their last resting place.




The Railway Conductor


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Back Talk from Appalachia


Book Description

Various authors examine and dispute the stereotypes of Appalachia.




Sketches in Prose and Verse


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Tears and Triumphs


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The Glories of War


Book Description

A unique telling of Civil War military activity in 1861, The Glories of War focuses on the Union's invasion of Virginia from four directions; it is the first study of the four invasion corridors of the Civil War. The Union invasions mainly produced small battles and skirmishes, as well as widely celebrated heroes, that received national attention in both the North and South but are forgotten today. Major themes include combatants' romanticized visions of the "glories of war," as well as their subsequent disillusionment. Special emphasis is placed on military activity in western Virginia (modern West Virginia), which has received limited study. Extensive use of Union and Confederate newspapers, along with previously unused sources, brings new information to readers. The text is supplemented by maps depicting both overviews and details of military action.