I admire Oprah for introducing the average TV watcher to the joy of a good book. However, this is only a so-so book. It is leagues ahead of the 'heaving bosom' genre, but it isn't great literature. The characters were thinly developed and the story line predictable. Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books are a better choice for descriptions of pioneering spirit. If you want to learn about hog butchering and hardtimes-read the Foxfire series. These are the true stories gathered from interviews with the residents of the NC/SC/GA border area.