The Woods of Fannin County

De: Janisse Ray

Narrado por: Janisse Ray

In the fall of 1945, eight children, all brothers and sisters, vanished from a small rental house in Morganton, Georgia. The oldest was ten and the youngest was a newborn. They were taken by mule and wagon to a shack on a remote mountain in the Blue Ridge foothills of Fannin County, up where it hugs the North Carolina line. For the next four years they would live mostly alone, without mother or father, roaming the mountains and valleys of what had been Cherokee Territory, scouring for food and scrambling to take care of themselves and each other. Few people ever knew what happened. Over time the children themselves became silent about their childhood, and their story was buried.

One day in 2015 the children, long grown and many of them now grandparents, began to reveal the story to Janisse Ray, award-winning author of the best-selling memoir, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood.

The Woods family wove a sometimes painful, sometimes jubilant, and always astounding revelation of their subsistence in an Appalachian wilderness. Had that not happened, this remarkable story of abandonment, survival, and the incredible resilience of eight children might have been forever lost. Janisse Ray is known for her literary nonfiction, characterized by rich lyricism, knowledge of the natural world, and sincere embrace of the ecology of the heart. Based on a true story, The Woods of Fannin County is Ray’s first novel.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Janisse Ray (P)2022 Janisse Ray

Remarkable story of survival

Children had help surviving on the mountain, but so infrequently that it’s incredible they survived at all. That a community stood by and did nothing until four years later is Inexcusable. Amazing all the children ended up leading productive lives. But the pain of being abandoned by both parents, grandparents and the community affected them for the rest of their lives. How could it not.

Moving Story

This is a story that needed to be told. The children displayed immense bravery and grit.

A Must Read !!

This is so gut wrenching and I couldn’t stop listening!
I was aghast and appalled and I wanted to drive to Blue Ridge and find these horrible hateful people and shame them face to face ! It evokes that kind of emotion- Such an Amazing survival story !!

The raw simplicity of the character’s voices created a strong sympathy and admiration for them and for the writer.

I will have to reread this—I found it so involving that my critical voice was silenced, and so be it. It’s an excellent story if heartbreaking. And I am impressed with Ray’s balanced evocation of place—she avoids any overwhelming “Aren’t these mountains gorgeous and just look at the flora/fauna, etc.” The human and humane voice overrides any other consideration. Yet there is a true sense of location. Wow. I will need a print copy of this one.

Very Captivating Read

Janisse Ray has spun a riveting story based on true-life events of backwoods poverty in the 1940s in the Georgia mountains. Eight young children were abandoned in a remote ramshackle cabin and, in effect, left to die of starvation and exposure. But they didn’t. They somehow scratched and fought to live on their own with no adult supervision and very little support of any kind for four long years. Decades later, Ray has interviewed the surviving siblings and pieced together a gripping account of the children’s desperation and determination that has never been told until now. She masterfully puts the reader in that time and place with detailed descriptions of the geography, the conditions and the attitudes of numerous people who were aware of the children’s situation and yet were not moved to rescue them. Wow!!!!

Engaging and eye opening

What an amazing story of sadness and triumph. A good example of pushing through a tough situation, opening up, honesty, love, teamwork, kinship…a lot is jammed packed in this book. A must read because it’s a good read.

Compelling story

A fictional retelling of a true story, sensitively and beautifully written. A page-turner! I felt the siblings innocence, distress, deeply felt yet unmet needs, courage, and ultimately, a long awaited measure of freedom in breaking their silence.
The author’s voice is perfect for the narration, done very slowly. The 1.3x speed I used was a good pace.

Janis’s is a brilliant writer

This is the second book I have read of this author. This book is heart wrenching to know it is a true story, realizing that there are similar situations of poverty and abuse that have occurred in our country. But I love Janisse’s poetic descriptions of the environment and biological richness that helped sustain the children.

Struggling Start

Ms. Ray, I think you are a gifted writer and your story was very descriptive and touching. However, when the story started, I almost quit listening and thought of trying to return the book because of the narration. I will say your narration got better, but at first, I found it to be a negative distraction.
Since you are such a gifted writer, I feel you need to give your career every positive opportunity, starting with finding a really good narrator.

Captivating

I love when the story is told by the author. Janisse is one of my favorite authors and although I’m not a fan of most fiction novels, I did enjoy this one.