Southern Lady Book Club
All the Forgivenesses
By Elizabeth Hardinger
Set in Appalachia and the Midwest at the turn of the twentieth century, this exquisite debut novel paints an intimately rendered portrait of one resilient farm family’s challenges and hard-won triumphs—helmed by an unforgettable heroine.
Growing up on their hardscrabble farm in rural Kentucky, fifteen-year-old Albertina “Bertie” Winslow has learned a lot from her mama, Polly. She knows how to lance a boil, make a pie crust, butcher a pig, and tend to every chore that needs doing. What she doesn’t know, but is forced to reckon with all too soon, is how to look after children as a mother should …
When Polly succumbs to a long illness, Bertie takes on responsibility for her four younger siblings and their dissolute, unreliable daddy. Yet no matter how hard she tries to hold the family together, the task is overwhelming. Nine-year-old Dacia, especially, is resentful and stubborn, hinting at secrets in their mama’s life. Finally, Bertie makes the only choice she can—breaking up the family for its own survival, keeping the girls with her, sending the boys off to their grown brothers, long gone from home.
Ever pragmatic, Bertie marries young, grateful to find a husband willing to take on the care of her sisters, and eventually moves to the oil fields of Kansas. But marriage alone cannot resolve the grief and guilt she carries over a long-ago tragedy, or prepare her for the heartaches still to come. Only by confronting wrenching truths can she open herself to joy—and learn how to not only give, but receive, unfettered love.
Inspired by stories told by the author’s mother and aunts, All the Forgivenesses is as authentic as it is lyrical—a captivating novel of family loyalty, redemption, and resilience.
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What Readers Are Saying
Advance Praise
“Not since Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone and Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Once Upon a River have I met such an original, strong young woman, full of resourcefulness, passion, and courage, dedicated to saving her family no matter the personal sacrifice. This is an extraordinary, unforgettable novel, with a haunting voice that follows you into your dreams at night. Elizabeth Hardinger carves the geography of the human heart and teaches us the lessons of the forgiveness and the redemption that is possible for those of us strong enough to bear the burden and gift of love.”
— Jonis Agee, award‑winning author of The River Wife and The Bones of Paradise
“Elizabeth Hardinger has given us a heroine for the ages. In the face of unimaginable hardship, where survival is the only thing that matters, she learns strength and courage, and discovers joy in unexpected places. Her voice is strong and authentic and unforgettable. Equal parts tender and brutal, All the Forgivenesses is a rich, exquisite novel.”
— Alex George, author of Setting Free the Kites
“It won't take a page to know this is an abiding story told in an utterly captivating voice. I fell into this novel in a way I've only experienced when reading Kaye Gibbons, Louise Erdrich, Dorothy Allison, and Alice Walker. The sense of place and time, of family, guilt, grief, and love are so richly layered, reading All the Forgivenesses is mesmerizing. No one writes like Hardinger. Thank goodness she does.”
— Sandra Scofield, National Book Award finalist for Beyond Deserving
“Composed with unassuming wisdom and grace, All the Forgivenesses is an exhilarating testament to the human spirit. You'll fall in love with the remarkable Bertie, whose unwavering loyalty to family delivers her a life rich with meaning and hard‑won transcendence. A captivating debut by an exciting new voice in fiction.”
— Wayne Harrison, author of The Spark and the Drive
For Your Book Club
Book Club Extras
From the Author
A Note from Elizabeth Hardinger
Dear Readers,
All the Forgivenesses tells the story of Bertie Winslow, born in poverty in Kentucky at the turn of the twentieth century and forced, at fifteen, to bear the responsibility of four younger siblings. In addition to privation, Bertie must navigate complicated family dynamics, find her soul within the framework of a punitive theology, and invent a life from scratch. I hope you’ll root for Bertie and her siblings as she struggles against her own ignorance, impatience, jealousy, and fear of failure to try to reach a place of love and forgiveness.
I imagined writing a novel for many years; I got an MFA in creative writing in 1986. I piddled around and wrote notes and first drafts of a few chapters. Then one morning about ten years ago, I woke up with these words in my mind: “Do you think you’re going to live forever? How mad are you going to be on your deathbed if you don’t write that book?” So I started writing in earnest.
I hope you enjoy this sojourn through a life that few of us will ever know.
All best,
Elizabeth Hardinger
Recipe from the Book
Grandma’s Wacky Cake
A recipe from Elizabeth Hardinger
Bertie Winslow, the narrator of All the Forgivenesses, was originally based on my maternal grandmother, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Frans. Like Grandma, Bertie was born in 1900 in Kentucky and ended up in southeast Kansas. Like Grandma, Bertie married a fiddler who worked in the oil fields. But Bertie’s story took a sharp left turn after the first draft, when I realized there wasn’t much of a story if, like Grandma, the character had no flaws. So Bertie developed a temper, became jealous, impatient, and violent, and learned to express her deepest fears and sorrows, occasionally in salty language. Tribulation followed.
Grandma’s wacky cake is the perfect project to make with a grandchild, involving as it does the digging of holes in the dry ingredients, along with gentle stirring instead of an electric mixer. It has no eggs, but it’s moist and delicious. Here’s the recipe, along with my emendations.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoons soda [baking soda]
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2/3 cup oil
- 2 cups cold water
For the frosting
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter (softened) [melted]
- 1 cup coconut [shredded, unsweetened]
Instructions
- Sift dry ingredients into an ungreased 9×13-inch cake pan.
- Dig three holes.
- In first hole, put vinegar. In second hole, put vanilla. In third hole, put oil.
- Over the entire mixture, pour water.
- Stir lightly [with a fork].
- Bake at 350 degrees, about one hour.
- While cake is baking, make the frosting: mix together brown sugar, butter, and coconut. Frost cake [as soon as it is out of the oven].
- Put under broiler until done [the frosting bubbles] (2 or 3 minutes). Let cool before serving.
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