My Gitfiddle Summer

Gitfiddle Summer is a richly textured coming-of-age novel about country music, memory, and the flawed people we love. Set against the backdrop of small towns in 1950s Missouri and illuminated by the country music of the era, it captures the bittersweet process of growing up, of seeing parents as people, of confronting danger with dignity, and of finding one's voice in the noise of a broken world. With lyrical prose and deep emotional resonance, it tells the story of a boy who becomes a man not by chasing fame or fortune, but by standing firm to sing in the face of heartbreaking trauma.

Thirteen-year-old Daniel Freemont is a gifted young guitar picker living with his mother and brother in poverty in the basement of a tavern after his parents' divorce. His father, a struggling country musician, drifts in and out of his life until one day, he disappears completely. Desperate to save his mother from her abusive boyfriend, Daniel embarks on a journey into a world of jukebox dreams, broken loyalties, and adult secrets too heavy for any child to carry. As Daniel's understanding of his parents' problems deepens, he grapples with the sacrifices required by family while preparing for his big break on the nationally-televised country music program, The Ozark Jubilee.