Cornbread, A Novel

An “Alice” of the modern South pursues her own white rabbit and lands on her hind end in Wonderland.

Thirty-year-old Katie Mae Wallace is shrinking from the path leading her back home to her mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s.

Katie wants her world to be her way.

So, she decides to spark Momma’s fading mind by plunging them into the family Flag Day reunion. Katie will see her mother surrounded by siblings and picnic chicken and banana pudding, the hope against hope being Momma will remember a lost cornbread recipe and, just maybe, find some of herself again.

But entering her journey, Katie discovers Wonderland sits on a tilt, and even in east Tennessee, the natives won’t let her pass without a tussle. Mad aunts, intrusive uncles, and contrary cousins, both friend and foe, battle her every step. Yet, no encounter rubs rawer for her than confronting the real Katie Mae.