Bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb to speak at the Palisades

Bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb to speak at the Palisades


The Giles County Historical Society will present an evening talk and book signing by New York Times bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb on Tuesday, March 27th, at 7:00pm at the Palisades Restaurant in Eggleston. The event is free and open to the public.

The talk will feature two of McCrumb’s books: The Ballad of Tom Dooley, which tells the true story behind the celebrated folk song, and the new edition of Ghost Riders, a tale chronicling
the Civil War in the Southern mountains as a local reenactors group plans a mock skirmish in their community.

With ancestors hailing from the mountains of North Carolina, it is no surprise that McCrumb
is best known for her Appalachian “Ballad” novels, including The Ballad of Frankie Silver, She Walks These Hills, and The Devil Amongst the Lawyers. Set in the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, the ballad novels interweave local legends and natural wonders with contemporary Appalachian issues.

McCrumb has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including Writer of the Year at Emory and Henry College in 2005 and, in 2008, Virginia Woman of History for Achievement in Literature by the Library of Virginia.

Her gift for storytelling, however, is not confined to pen and paper. Patricia Jacobs, Executive Director of the Giles County Historical Society, recalls hearing McCrumb speak at the 2007
Appalachian Studies Conference in Maryville, Tennessee:

“I attended an all-day program on health issues in Appalachia, and, by the end of the day, we were tired, restless, and noisy. But as the final two presenters entered the room, it suddenly became silent. The male presenter introduced himself and said that he, too, would be speaking on health care in the region, but a very, very different kind of health care. Then, he introduced his co-presenter Sharyn McCrumb.

“The presentation was on folk healing, specifically the gift of “removing fire” or “talking the fire out” in which the practitioner heals those who have been severely burned. For the next half hour
the audience set mesmerized as the man explained the practice and its history in Appalachia while Ms. McCrumb told magical tales of “fire removers” known throughout the region and their miraculous ability to heal. First, the pain and redness would disappear, but within days even
scarring would completely disappear!”

Jacobs, a student at Radford University at the time, was studying physical anthropology, but after hearing McCrumb’s talk she changed her focus to cultural anthropology with an emphasis on Appalachian studies—a focus she has continued in graduate school at Virginia Tech.

Jacobs encourages the community to attend the presentation saying “It will be an exciting and memorable evening for all!”