Mrs. Parsley is a master story teller and this first collection shows that she always works hard to tell tales that are entertaining, informative, and a little off the beaten path. From alligators to ghosts, From bears to sprites. Like the Big Cypress Swamp itself, Mrs. Parsley reflects the wild and often unpredictable nature of the plants, animals, and other magical creatures that inhabit this hidden and often misunderstood world. Not your usual fairy tales, Mrs. Parsley's stories are meant to be shared with an audience who loves the unknown and the unheard of, the strange and the humorous. It's all part of the magic of storytelling. And sometimes, as Mrs. Parsley herself has learned, the magic is real.

It's 1970 and 18-year-old Howie White, who has lived most of his life at Good Shepherd Home for Children in northeast Tennessee, must leave and find his own way in the world. But having lived for fifteen years in a very well ordered religious and social environment, Howie discovers what that real world is really like: complex, odd, sometimes dangerous.