The stories in A Southern Reader Volume 111 are set during the great depression and on into the WW11 years in Southeast Georgia's wiregrass country. In times of great change and upheaval, life can be harder for the poor. Poverty can cause the best of men and women to do things they other wise would never think of. Poverty makes men mean and also resourceful. . Rose the beautiful daughter of a tenant farmer has few options for a happy life. One night her father shoots her mother leaving her handicapped and in the care of Rose. Hope is lost until one night she meets a young man who is considerate and well mannered. She invites him to the tenant house she lives in. He comes to her house with expectations that are hopefully romantic. In the early morning hours he leaves her frustrated and ashamed of his behavior. Rose on the other hand is both saddened and disillusioned with life and with men. In Riding the Saw Bosn Higgs the owner of a two man pulpwood business has lost his cross cut sawing helper to an outfit with modern up to date equipment. Determine to go on as always with a new hire he soon discovers that mechanization has a choke hold on him and his business that will not let go. In Shared Misery a high school class trip has caused all sorts of problems for four classmates. Wess didn't make the trip and was cheated on by his girlfriend. He married her anyway but became so disillusioned that he joined the army and was stationed in Korea. Gary a new friend to Wess has been asked to deliver a batch of love letters from his wife back to her and a small brass statue of liberty, should he not return home. He eloped with a Korean girl so Gary was saddled with the task of carrying out the request of his buddy. Gary does as requested by Wess to discover a mixture of past hurts and unforgiven misery. In A Moment in Time Eustace discovers that compassion, can be found in the heart of a person who lives in the bosom of a family noted for their greed and grudging sense of charity. In To the West of Eden we find Calvin a GI stationed in England had been exchanging letters with Jolene. They hit it off and a meeting is planned immediately after he is discharged. He has high expectations. Instead he is disappointed that the initial meeting is subdued and almost indifferent. Something has happened to her he figures or she is either a little off. But something has happened to her that is absolutely awful and she has no idea how he will react should she tell him. Feeling that her life will never be normal she makes a fateful decision. In Dog Fennels we find Georgia Alabama falling in love with a local never do well boy with a wild reputation both careless and disarming. She makes a mistake causing her no end of shame while her lover heads for the swamp. Crazy old Aunt Bede from across the river hears of her disgrace and comes to save her. In the story we find Terrell placing an add in the local newspaper for a wife. After weeks of unsuccessful advertising he gives up to drown his loneliness at a local bar. Going home that night he picks up a young woman hitch hiking. He naively believes he can get away with stashing her in the tool shed forever.