Hard Times - Living in the Shadows
Calm Before the Storm
By: Sheila Tarter

Set in the notoriously poor Appalachian region of Kentucky, this story chronicles the life of Sheila and her seven siblings as they experience one tragedy after another. After her coal mining father passes away at an early age, Sheila and her family struggle to survive under the direction of a mother who can often provide little more than beans and cornbread for long stretches of time. As the family weathers tragedy after tragedy, the siblings believe they have seen it all until Sheila must face the most difficult trial of all, Lou Gehrig’s disease. Experience the true meaning of what it means to struggle and triumph as a family in this tale of how one group of siblings must come of age in the grip of poverty.