RIPE FOR THE PICKIN' by Shana Thornton

Book Two in The Family Medicine Wheel Series

The Family Medicine Wheel Series is part of Vanderbilt University Archives' Southern Civilization Collection!

PRAISE: 

“It’s been a few years since we saw these characters in the first of Shana Thornton’s Poke Sallet stories. This time, as I read the opening pages, I feel like I’m running down a country road holding onto the tailgate of a friend’s pickup, and that friend is Thornton herself. The thought occurs to me that I should not have got out of the pickup in the first place, and would be wise to hang on, to follow wherever she takes me. The story is several stories: a road trip, a food and herb meditation, a hymn to Tennessee, an earth spiritual. There’s the continuation of a treasure hunt, and poetry, and song lyrics, all spanning several generations, at times passing over the threshold from this world to earlier worlds. It’s worth reading, and worth reading twice.”—BARRY KITTERMAN, award winning author of FROM THE SAN JOAQUIN: Stories

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A legendary family treasure is rumored to be buried on the Ballard Farm, and generations have searched for it while pretending as if they don't believe in it. Robin goes looking for it, and instead discovers that she's a songwriter, leading to the creation of her folk/bluegrass band, Poke Sallet Queen and the Family Medicine Wheel. 
Ripe for the Pickin' by Shana Thornton is an adventure filled with road trips, old maps, and stories that Robin is shocked to have as her inheritance. While Robin learns about the beliefs and antics of her great-great grandmother, Zona, she and her bandmates are searching for the magic spark in songwriting and performing. This book reveals Zona's journeys in the early 20th century throughout middle Tennessee to perform blessings at locations she and her sisters consider sacred for their natural remedies and spiritual resonance. 
The Family Medicine Wheel series is a family history of tall tales, songwriting, moonshining, and secrets. Ripe for the Pickin' by Shana Thornton serves up more of the Ballard family's past and Robin's future.