Life Goes Better with Chocolate Gravy: Mountain Memories—Mischief and Misery

With her tiny red rocker turned upside down atop a pile of furniture packed in a mule-drawn wagon, little Norma Seto moved with her family to Turkey Branch in Magoffin County Kentucky in preparation for another year of sharecropping a small farm. Experiencing early life in houses without indoor plumbing or electricity, Norma first enjoyed the taste of a soda pop cooled in a nearby creek, the frustration of finding the dipper frozen in a bucket of water in an effort to relieve her thirst in the middle of the night, and the enjoyment of a flavorful dish of poke greens.
In a collection of true stories of those who lived in eastern Kentucky mostly during the forties, fifties, and sixties, Seto chronicles the experiences of not just her family but also the faith, laughter, sadness, and celebrations of those around them. While focusing on the strength and ingenuity that these Kentuckians relied on to overcome hardship, Seto leads others back to a time when a good work ethic was embraced, a strong faith in God was encouraged, and the simple gifts in life were appreciated.
“Through her heartwarming, humorous, and entertaining memoir of growing up in the hills of eastern Kentucky, Norma invites us to meet colorful characters who lived life the way it was meant to be lived – simply and to the fullest.”
—Dr. Jeffrey F. Neal, Director, Cooperative Education Program, Clemson University