June 1, 2020 BLUER THAN BLUE

Have you ever heard of the Blue People of Kentucky? Me either--until last week. Apparently, a man of French descent named Martin Fugate, who had blue skin, settled in Troublesome Creek around 1800.  He married a woman named Elizabeth Smith and four of their seven children were blue. Why were they blue? The color of their skin was due to low oxygen saturation caused by hereditary Methemoglobinemia. Interestingly enough, it was caused by a recessive gene--so both the father and mother had to have the gene in order to have blue children. By the 20th century, descendants with the gene still lived hidden around Troublesome Creek. In the 1950's, two siblings caught the attention of a nurse who then took them to a hematologist who was familiar with their condition as he had seen it in Alaska. After testing and further study, he  was able to treat the them. Sadly, the blue people were discriminated against because of their skin color. They were murdered, beaten, and ridiculed because they weren't white. Unfortunately, things haven't changed much in our world-- They've only gotten worse as witnessed by the events of the past few months. Stand for a moment in Cussy Mary Carter's shoes when you  read The Book Woman of Trouble Some Creek by Kim Michelle Richards.  

Cussy Mary, the narrator of this fine novel, is the last of her kind--the Blue People. She's also a pack horse librarian, one of  Roosevelt's WPA programs of the 1930s. Cussy Mary is a brave, dedicated librarian who faces prejudice, intolerance and attacks from whites as she travels the poverty stricken rural areas of Appalachia delivering books to her patrons. She and her father are not accepted in town and are not considered part of the community because of their difference. Because of the color of their skin, they are persecuted and held hostage in  their own homes. Her father is a coal miner with  lung disease who has one last wish. He wants to see his daughter married and taken care of before his death. But who would want to marry a Blue? This book is so many things. It is a well- researched novel that will make you feel like you are back in Kentucy in the 1930s. It's also a book that pays tribute to the women who rode countless miles over rough terrain to bring hope to the poor, ignorant masses. It's also about prejudice and what it's like to be different in a world that does not accept difference. Find out what happens to Cussy Mary and her father when you read this beautifully written novel for yourself. It's about 320 pages or a 4 mile run that is more timely than ever.