Troubling the Ashes

by Shirley A. Aaron

Overview

Troubling the Ashes is a work of historical fiction set in the turbulent 1960s when the integration of schools was bringing out the worst in people. The book’s narrator, Marley Jane, and her family are living through the aftermath of a school burned to the ground by an unknown perpetrator in a small, Alabama town divided by hate. Based on actual events, likely unknown to the average reader, Troubling the Ashes is a story that needs to be told, and Aaron’s passion in telling it is palpable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780990567585
Publisher:	Gnu Arts Inc
Publication date:	06/06/2016
Pages:	238
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Shirley Aaron was born and raised in Valley, Alabama, the daughter of the late Bob C. Austin and Hazel S. Austin, of Hopewell Community. She is the widow of the late Charles O. Aaron, who was an attorney in Lanett, Alabama. She has two children-a son, Austin K. Sanderson, who lives in New Jersey, and a daughter, Della D. Sanderson, who lives in
Huntsville, Alabama.
Shirley received a Bachelor of Science in Education degree in 1977 and a Master of Education degree in 1980 from Auburn University, where she also obtained certification as a media specialist. She worked forty-two years as an educator, teaching English in grades 9-
12, as well as teaching English 101 part-time at Southern Union State College. She retired in Alabama as an English teacher in 1996. Then, she began working in Georgia, where she retired in 2011 as a media specialist.
Shirley has enjoyed writing as a hobby for years, with a focus on poetry. She published a book of poetry, Drops of Light, in June, 2014. It was based on her life experiences and how she perceived those experiences. Troubling the Ashes is her first novel and is set in Notasulga, Alabama where she lived and worked for fourteen years.

Editorial Reviews

Troubling the Ashes focuses on the integration of the high schools of Macon County, Alabama. The story is told through the eyes of the author with thoughts from key persons in state, county and local agencies. It puts the reader into the time frame of 1964 and explains the race relations at the time and the outrageous limits that people went to in order to keep the schools segregated. Troubling the Ashes is a must read for those who want a better understanding of the segregated south. I lived through those times as one of the seniors in the Class of 1964 at Notasulga High School.

Willie Wyatt Jr.

From the Publisher