Without question, some of the situations I'd gotten myself in don't paint a pretty picture of the Laura Bradley-Hutchins that I used to be. But today, I'm a different person. Besides, whatever I did in my past doesn't make me any worse than anybody else. Show me a perfect person in this messed-up world? Some might say that I deserted my kids, but I say I only did what I thought was best for them at the time. Label my decision how you see fit, but at least, I didn't hurt my children or kill them like some stressed out mothers have done who don't feel that they have a place to go for help. I knew for certain that I couldn't go to Alex's parents and tell them the truth about what was happening in what appeared to be our 'perfect household. You see, the real deal was, Alex's parents thought he could do no wrong. He was the only college-educated child they had, and he was filthy rich by their estimation. His parents weren't going to turn on him and support me, since Alex moved them from the most dangerous projects in Atlanta.

Laura yanked open her purse and reached for what she had concealed in the black shawl. With the apathy of a raging tornado, she approached Alex, aiming the gun at his upper body. Sweat saturated her brows and dripped into her eyes. Spouting vile curse words under her breath, she used the sleeve of her mauve blouse to clear her blurred vision. As she was about to pull the trigger, she heard a heavy voice, and snapped her head away from Alex towards the door, but she didn't see anyone. She halted momentarily to gather her thoughts. Facing her target, her hands shook uncontrollably as her body trembled. Inching closer to Alex, Laura prepared to fire. This time a powerful, masculine voice commanded, "Not your will, but my will be done "

Laura fell to her knees and crawled back to her purse. In a panic, she scrambled around on the floor, trying to wrap the gun in the scarf and conceal it in her purse. Because her snot-filled nostrils restrained her ability to breathe, she opened her mouth and panted like an exhausted sprinter, all the while trying to lift herself from the frigid hospital floor.

This story has entranced readers of all ages since it was first published twenty-five years ago. The tale tells the story of a boy orphaned very young, who is adopted by his Cherokee grandmother and half-Cherokee grandfather in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee during the Great Depression. 'Little Tree' as his grandparents call him is shown how to hunt and survive in the mountains, to respect nature in the Cherokee Way, taking only what is needed, leaving the rest for nature to run its course. Little Tree also learns the often callous ways of the white businessmen and tax collectors, and how Grandpa, in hilarious vignettes, scares them away from his illegal attempts to enter the cash economy. Grandma teaches Little Tree the joys of reading and education. But when Little Tree is taken away for schooling by whites, we learn of the cruelty meted out to Indian children in an attempt to assimilate them and of Little Tree's perception of the Anglo world and how it differs from the Cherokee Way.

The white man had burned their land, raped their women, and slaughtered their children.  He had made them a nation of slaves, and those he could not enslave, he promised to destroy.  The Apache had one hope: vengeance.



Out of the scattered remnants of the Apache tribes rose a man whose cunning, ferocity, and genuis for warfare would make him their leader in a last tragic struggle for survival.  The Apache gave him their arms, their strength, and their absolute devotion.  The white man gave him his name: Geronimo!

Laura yanked open her purse and reached for what she had concealed in the black shawl. With the apathy of a raging tornado, she approached Alex, aiming the gun at his upper body. Sweat saturated her brows and dripped into her eyes. Spouting vile curse words under her breath, she used the sleeve of her mauve blouse to clear her blurred vision. As she was about to pull the trigger, she heard a heavy voice, and snapped her head away from Alex towards the door, but she didn't see anyone. She halted momentarily to gather her thoughts. Facing her target, her hands shook uncontrollably as her body trembled. Inching closer to Alex, Laura prepared to fire. This time a powerful, masculine voice commanded, "Not your will, but my will be done "

Laura fell to her knees and crawled back to her purse. In a panic, she scrambled around on the floor, trying to wrap the gun in the scarf and conceal it in her purse. Because her snot-filled nostrils restrained her ability to breathe, she opened her mouth and panted like an exhausted sprinter, all the while trying to lift herself from the frigid hospital floor.

Without question, some of the situations I'd gotten myself in don't paint a pretty picture of the Laura Bradley-Hutchins that I used to be. But today, I'm a different person. Besides, whatever I did in my past doesn't make me any worse than anybody else. Show me a perfect person in this messed-up world? Some might say that I deserted my kids, but I say I only did what I thought was best for them at the time. Label my decision how you see fit, but at least, I didn't hurt my children or kill them like some stressed out mothers have done who don't feel that they have a place to go for help. I knew for certain that I couldn't go to Alex's parents and tell them the truth about what was happening in what appeared to be our 'perfect household. You see, the real deal was, Alex's parents thought he could do no wrong. He was the only college-educated child they had, and he was filthy rich by their estimation. His parents weren't going to turn on him and support me, since Alex moved them from the most dangerous projects in Atlanta.

Josey Wales was the most wanted man in Texas. His wife and child had been lost to pre-civil War destruction and, like Jesse James and other young farmers, he joined the guerrilla soldiers of Missouri--men with no cause but survival and no purpose but revenge. Josey Wales and his Cherokee friend, Lone Watie, set out for the West through the dangerous Camanchero territory. Hiding by day, traveling by night, they are joined by an Indian woman named Little Moonlight, and rescue an old woman and her granddaughter from their besieged wagon. The five of them travel toward Texas and win through brash and honest violence, a chance for a new way of life.

This story has entranced readers of all ages since it was first published twenty-five years ago. The tale tells the story of a boy orphaned very young, who is adopted by his Cherokee grandmother and half-Cherokee grandfather in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee during the Great Depression. 'Little Tree' as his grandparents call him is shown how to hunt and survive in the mountains, to respect nature in the Cherokee Way, taking only what is needed, leaving the rest for nature to run its course. Little Tree also learns the often callous ways of the white businessmen and tax collectors, and how Grandpa, in hilarious vignettes, scares them away from his illegal attempts to enter the cash economy. Grandma teaches Little Tree the joys of reading and education. But when Little Tree is taken away for schooling by whites, we learn of the cruelty meted out to Indian children in an attempt to assimilate them and of Little Tree's perception of the Anglo world and how it differs from the Cherokee Way.