TURKEYFOOT by Rick Childers is a story of lost souls and the innocents unable to escape their destructive orbit; a story set amidst the melancholic beauty of today's Appalachia. A story to humanize the damage and destruction the opioid epidemic has dealt to rural communities across the country. Such a description may echo with familiarity, but make no mistake, TURKEYFOOT, the eponymous tale, quickly and firmly finds its footing in the small Appalachian town where its people have sought joy and sustenance in a place that offers little of either and few of life’s modern comforts—and that’s without the corrosive force of widespread addiction.

Two characters are key to the story: Sweetie Goodins, 73 years old and sensing his own mortality and young Lucy Perley, the 4th grade daughter of two addicts. Sweetie provides the pills to those who must have them—whether they can pay or not—while young Lucy observes helplessly as her parents, two of Sweetie’s many customers, spiral endlessly downward. The story pulls you in immediately; the writing is heartfelt and at times lyrical. The sense of place is the tale’s beating heart as Appalachia, like any worthwhile character, shows its true self as it suffers changes wrought by darkness.

The ending arrives as simply as it begins and in a moment of bleakness but as your breath hitches and your reading slows you realize that amends are being made. Childers is subtle here, choosing not to embellish the moment before he closes the story with a sense of hope, showing us that beauty and goodwill remains within reach of those determined to see it in Turkeyfoot.

This is a striking and worthy debut from an author who is surely someone to watch. Be sure to read it.
Thank you to Shotgun Honey and NetGalley for the copy of Turkeyfoot to read and review.