Stories I Lived to Tell: An Appalachian Memoir by Gary Carden, Edited by Neal Hutcheson
On the back cover of this book, Lee Smith called Gary Carden a “National Treasure,” and for good reason. His memoir-in-tales, Stories I Lived to Tell, follows the course of his life and gives readers a peek into Carden’s family and upbringing. These short snippets create a deep sense of place, home to the proud people who call the Appalachian Mountains home. The short, punchy chapters feel like flashes of memory that create a quilt-like picture of Carden’s life. But together, they give readers a more complete picture.