Charms for the Easy Life

By: Kaye Gibbons

Narrated by: Kaye Gibbons

A family without men, the Birches live gloriously offbeat lives in the lush, green backwoods of North Carolina. In a sad and singular era, they are unique among women of their time. For radiant, headstrong Sophia and her shy and brilliant daughter Margaret possess powerful charms to ward off loneliness, despair, and the human misery that all too often beats a path to their door. And they are protected through the years by the eccentric wisdom and muscular love of the most stalwart Birch of all—a solid, unbending, and uncompromising self-taught healer who can cure everything from boils to broken hones to broken hearts…a remarkable matriarch who calls herself Charlie Kate.
Charms for the Easy Life is the passionate, luminous, and exhilarating New York Times bestseller by Kaye Gibbons, the acclaimed author of Ellen Foster and Sights Unseen.©1994 Kaye Gibbons, All Rights Reserved; (P)1994 Simon & Schuster Inc.; AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

The author's reading makes up for the abridgment

Charms for the Easy Life, like most of Gibbons' books, centers on the lives of unique and interesting women. In this case, three generations: matriarch Charlie Kate, a feisty, independent folk healer, her daughter, Sophia, and her daughter, Margaret, who tells the tale of their struggles and triumphs in the North Carolina in the first half of the 20th century. There are plenty of positive reviews on line by writers far more skilled than I at telling what makes this book great, so I encourage you to utilize the google.

Although I don't usually like or recommend abridgments, Kaye Gibbons' own voice adds so much to my enjoyment of this book, that I will recommend this one. Kaye Gibbons has the kind of Southern accent that is at once soothing, sultry, and sincere, and which conveys a sense of wisdom. And although her books stand on their own, I believe her voice helped a Yankee like me further appreciate the Southern setting which is so much a part of the story.

Listening to this book "on tape" from my library years ago introduced me to Kaye Gibbons' wonderful literal and figurative voice. After finishing it, I immediately got the unabridged print version from the library. I subsequently listened to every one of Gibbons's books that were available and followed each with the unabridged print versions. You can get the unabridged version right here on Audible, but I highly encourage you to start with Gibbons' own reading.