Donald Davis, a former Methodist minister, has become one of America's most-revered traditional storytellers. While Davis has made his name telling coming-of-age stories of his childhood in the Great Smoky Mountains, this seminal volume focuses upon characters who have populated Davis's life and--he believes--will bring light into readers' lives. They are the unknown, but to family, who defined dignity, graciousness, and kindness in the author's eyes. Readers who have followed Davis's work over the past four decades will glory in these tales of special people who can now be known to all of us.