By The Book

Novelist Randy Pierce is a participant in the Turning A New Page Book Festival taking place in my small town on Saturday. He’ll be talking about Missy, a small town story with a big message. I’m looking forward to hearing him discuss this book, as well as describe his writing life.

A college party Wayne Jacobs and the love of his life, Missy Vance, did not really want to attend. A final beer Wayne did not need before he got behind the wheel. A horrific crash which killed Missy and, in many ways, destroyed Wayne, a beloved young man from a good Leakesville, Mississippi, family with a bright future. Today, as the crusty, hardscrabble roofer goes about his business and lives out his life, a cloud of despair those close to him can almost reach out and touch hangs over his head. Though Wayne paid his debt to society, spending twenty years behind bars at the state penitentiary in the Mississippi Delta, he just cannot let go of the guilt. Reminders of Missy are everywhere, not the least of which is her still-grieving and angry mother, Margie, an elderly woman in poor health who lives just minutes away and has not spoken to Wayne since the accident. Then Lacy Chamberlin hits town. It gets back to Wayne that the young journalist from Memphis has a fascination with the thirty-year-old accident and the accompanying fallout. Horrified when even his mother and their pastor agree to discuss what happened, Wayne angrily refuses to respond when Lacy begins leaving messages for him. What Wayne does not know is that Lacy Chamberlin carries a secret, a significant one. Her goal is not just to ask Wayne a few penetrating questions, but unburden herself in a way that will turn his life upside down all over again. A hard-hitting, spellbinding tale of loss, grief, and redemption with characters so real they feel like your own friends, neighbors, and adversaries, Missy will make you laugh, cry, and think about what is really important in life … and why it is so crucial that we learn to forgive.

By day, Randy Pierce is the Director of the Mississippi Judicial College at the Ole Miss law school. By early morning and night, he is a writer. The author of three novels, he started writing in 2010 and cannot stop. Randy enjoys learning more about the craft, and his goal is to write stories that cause readers to miss the characters when the last page is turned.

My Impressions:

Missy, by Mississippi author Randy Pierce, is small town southern fiction that explores the impacts a terrible accident can have on a community, as well as individuals. The theme of forgiveness is front and center, and many of the characters struggle with giving and accepting grace and mercy. Wayne and Missy were high school sweethearts before Wayne drove under the influence and destroyed their and their families’ hopes and dreams. I found the story to be poignant, and could definitely see both sides that Pierce presented. But it’s evident that grief and resentment, even uncontrolled hatred, can eat away at someone’s soul. You’ll find twists and surprises as you turn the pages, and the ending was hugely satisfying to me. I did shed more than a few tears too. 😉 While there is a Christian worldview presented in the book, there is some language. It all seemed natural and in context to me — not gratuitous in nature. This is a quick read that I am glad I discovered.

Recommended.

Audience:

(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

Tags: general fiction, Randy Pierce, Southern fiction