num_pages: 305
description: Starstruck by a dime-store picture of Jesus, Avocet Abigail "Bird" Jackson fancies herself "His girlfriend" and embarks upon a spiritual quest for salvation, even as the chaos of her home life plunges her into a stony silence. In stark and honest language, Bird tells the tragic tale of her father, a sweet-talking wanna-be country music star, tracks her older sister's perilous journey into womanhood, and witnesses her mother make a courageous and ultimately devastating decision.Yet most profound is Bird's own story--her struggle to sift through the ashes of her parents' lives, her meeting with Miss Zora, a healer whose prayers over the bones of winged creatures are meant to guide their souls to heaven, and her will to make sense of a world where fear is more plentiful than hope, retribution more valued than love. . . .
language: English
title: Before Women Had Wings
titlecomplete: Before Women Had Wings
genres: Fiction, Abuse, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Coming Of Age, Southern, Womens, Historical Fiction, Adult, Novels
ratings_count: 3779
awards: awardedAt: 883641600000
name: Dublin Literary Award
publisher: Ivy Books