Deserter

Preston Martin entered the world one humid August afternoon in 1853. Listening to his lusty cries, the midwife told his mother Freelove he would grow up to be a preacher. His father Joseph took a more pessimistic view. Noticing the corner of his son's mouth slanted to one side, Joseph concluded Preston had a liar's mouth. Preston lives his life somewhere between his parents' two pronouncements. He has every intention and desire to follow his mother's wishes, but life in nineteenth-century America keeps drawing him astray. When war brings tragedy to Preston's family, Preston finds himself supporting his mother through a combination of lay preaching and opportunistic theft. A recommendation that he join the army turns sour when Preston chooses to desert, leaving him a hunted man for almost a decade. Based on the life story of author K. A. Potter-Hughes' paternal great-grandfather, Deserter paints an evocative and sometimes grim picture of love, loss, and morality in the years surrounding the Civil War. Preston's acts may not be those of a godly man, but he never stops struggling to become one. In the long run, perhaps that's enough for redemption.

• | Author: K. A. Potter-hughes
• | Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• | Publication Date: Jun 27, 2016
• | Number of Pages: 334 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1530369886
• | ISBN-13: 9781530369881