title: Troublesome Blue
author: Arrowood, Larry M.
description: Nancy York, just out of college, accepts the assignment to a one-room schoolhouse in the remote community bordering Troublesome Creek. The clannish ways of the mountain people soon collide with her preconceived notions. Nancy boards in the home of widowed Wesley Taggart and his five young children. Her strong personality clashes with the assured and enigmatic Mr. Taggart. Further, the circumstances of Mrs. Taggart's death shroud the household with a mysterious pathos. Nancy discovers her textbook knowledge has ill-equipped her to help this family deal with their grief. A rare skin condition plagues the community: some of the children are born with blue skin. Nancy tries to change the attitude of unfounded rejection and shame associated with the disease. Nancy and Wesley lay aside their differences and together work for the betterment of the community. Their effort weaves a tapestry of hope and love, but the thread that binds threatens to unravel when tragedy strikes. This poignant and thought-provoking drama offers a winding plot of suspense, good versus evil and the misunderstandings that abound when cultures clash. It's a love story inundated with natural disasters, diseases and death. These calamities highlight the harshness of the Appalachia culture. The strongest sensation of all is the pain that's associated with love.