Hickory author Rhonda Browning White is continuing her family’s storytelling tradition.
“I come from a family of storytellers,” White said. “I was steeped in story.”
White has written a new book, “Filling the Big Empty,” published by Redhawk Publications.
The book follows two characters, Romie and her husband, Jasper. Romie is a covert environmentalist, and Jasper is a coal miner working for a company that practices fracking and mountaintop mining.
The couple travel around the Appalachian region, to North Carolina and West Virginia, searching for belonging and purpose. They experience the joy of meaningful work, the beauty of the area and the pain of human hardships, including effects of environmental destruction, reproductive issues and opioid addiction.
“It sounds terribly dark, but it’s really not,” White said. “There’s some hope to it, and some funny parts, so there’s enough humor to balance it out.
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“Some of the reviewers have told me there’s a lot of grace in this story, and I think that’s important. I believe in that. We all have to give each other grace.”
White is passionate about the environment. In “Filling the Big Empty,” she talks about its effects on the lives of her characters.
“I think it’s important we take care of the land that’s taking care of us,” White said. “If we don’t, we’re going to pay for it. I think we’re starting to see what we’ve done to the land and environment.”
White later continued, “It’s important to recognize what we mean to the land, and what the land means to us. It’s in our control. The land is in our control until it’s not.”
White has lived in Florida, North Carolina and West Virginia. She draws from her experiences in those places when writing.
“I think stories always reflect a little of the author on some level,” White said. “We put what we know or what we’ve experienced in our stories.”
White draws inspiration from authors Stewart O’Nan and Flannery O’Connor as well as fellow Appalachian authors Ron Rash, Lee Smith and Barbara Kingsolver.
Some of her favorite books include the “Calaboose Epistles” and “Something Rich and Strange,” both of which are collections of short stories.
White’s first book, “The Lightness of Water and Other Stories,” is a compilation of short stories. “The Lightness of Water” won the 2019 Press 53 award for short fiction. The first chapter and the last chapter of that book inspired White to write “Filling the Big Empty.”
When not writing, White works as a practice manager at Piedmont Nephrology and Hypertension Associates in Hickory and Morganton. She also teaches creative writing at Catawba Valley Community College.
White will host a book launch party where she will read from “Filling the Big Empty” on Nov. 16 at Olde Hickory Station. The event will take place at 3 p.m.
“Filling the Big Empty” can be purchased from Amazon, Redhawk Publications or independent bookstores.
Billy Chapman is a reporter with the Hickory Daily Record.
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