My Sarah

About the Book

An emotional story set in southern KY where quiet, isolated valleys are cooled and nurtured by the gently meandering Big Sandy River. Nineteenth year old Sarah Jane Brinks and her niece, Melissa Slaughter, both physically and mentally battered by the child’s drunken father, going together and survive. The death of Melissa’s young mother brings the dreaded Slaughter family into their lives. Wetzel Slaughter, ashamed of what his brother has done, devotes his time and money to the rehabilitation of his battered niece and her aunt, and, in the process, loses his heart to both. The destructive effects of alcoholism are shattered by love.

About the Author

Maria Coleman Barker, born 1932 at Draffin, KY., the only girl in a family of eight. Graduated in 1970 from Pikeville College with a teaching degree in English and U.S. History. Moved to VA to teach in the Danville, VA Public School System. Retired in 1992 and returned to the mountains of southeastern KY, Maria has one child, James L. Barker, Jr. who lives and works for Pioneer Foods in Prosperity, S,C.