This book contains "the current oral histories of 19 native people still living in the Virginia highlands where the author makes her home. The material is new, fresh and full of rich history taken from those who can remember what life was like before electricity, telephones and indoor plumbing; before technology became a household word. It was a time when survival depended on how well the crops and gardens grew. A time when the labor was hard but brought an inward satisfaction to those living the old way. When the last generation of mountain folk are gone most of the knowledge of the rugged culture that nourished and sustained them will be gone as well."--Author's website.