A punch-in-the-gut of a novel you won't be able to forget.

A stunning, lyrical novel set in the rolling foothills of the Appalachians in which a young girl discovers stark truths that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

So begins the story of Betty.

Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty inhabits a world of poverty and loss, of lush landscapes and blazing stars.

Despite the hardship she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters and her father's brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all she bears witness to - the horrors of her family's past and present - Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write.