Jackie Mantey
Written as a companion piece to a gallery show of embroidered imagery and writing by author Jackie Mantey, "Gone, Country" weaves together essays, stories, prose, and art about life lived straddling the middle of today's rural/ urban divide. The book is broken into four themes—Home, Faith, Hope, and Love—all representative of words we often use (or hang on our walls) but less often consider as experiences weighty with nuance and varied by choice. With a mix of humor, grief, and honesty, "Gone, Country" explores creative nonfiction's memoir potential while reflecting one American country-girl-cum-city-woman's search for a place to land and effort to bridge an identity inspired by seemingly opposed forces.