That Which Binds Us - by Cathy Rigg

About the Book

In the 1860s, on Virginia's Appalachian frontier, the fates of five people are forever linked as they navigate love, loss and the cost of buried secrets amid the strife and turmoil of an unimaginable civil war.

Book Synopsis

In the 1860s, on Virginia's Appalachian frontier, the fates of five people are forever linked as they navigate love, loss, and the cost of buried secrets amid the strife and turmoil of an unimaginable civil war.

In 1854, on the lawless western edge of Virginia, Elizabeth Young stands among the throngs and watches as her beloved uncle is hanged for murder. She can tell that there is more to this spectacle than meets the eye, and she vows then and there she'll discover the truth then leave these godforsaken mountains. She'll go where the land is flat, where life is in the open, where dreams have room to roam.

But fate has another idea. Three strangers with dreams and secrets of their own come into her life: Patrick Hagan, Irish Catholic immigrant and a bright young attorney with a dogged determination to do good and make good; Mary Lenore Kitchens, the sophisticated teacher who's come to Virginia's hinterlands, for who knows why; handsome Ben Grubb, local boy, banjo prodigy, a mischievous sort who wants only to play. Soon their lives become inextricably linked, along with that of Red Hopkins, an old friend to Elizabeth's Papa, and in marches the Civil War.

Punctuated by class and the realities of a devastating conflict, That Which Binds Us is a broad work of historical fiction that celebrates our best and explores our worst, that serves to remind us that across continents and cultures and generations, love holds the greatest power of all.

Review Quotes

"That Which Binds Us is an Appalachian love story with glorious twists and turns, longing and grief, and resplendent redemption. Elizabeth is an original character of strength and purpose. You won't be able to put it down!" --Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Good Left Undone

"That Which Binds Us is a superior work of Southern Appalachian fiction, marking the debut of a gifted writer to watch. Mining the rich literary terrain of authors like Lee Smith and Adriana Trigiani, while breaking new ground of her own, Cathy Rigg has written a heartfelt historical tale of a people and their place that resonates long after the last page is turned." --Amy Greene, author of Bloodroot

"Cathy Rigg Monetti has come up with the liveliest, most interesting and compulsively readable historical novel I have seen in many a year--I love this book! Of course I'm a Virginian too...but these themes are universal and the writing is wonderful." --Lee Smith, award-winning author of Silver Alert and Dimestore

"Rigg has written a historical novel of exquisite storytelling, with an ear tuned to the voices of mountain people." --Amy D. Clark, coauthor and editor of Talking Appalachian: Voice, Identity, and Community and host of the Talking Appalachian podcast.

"Cathy Rigg's That Which Binds Us is historical fiction at its best, showing us exactly what it meant to survive the Civil War as it impacted the old ways in Appalachia. Rigg's novel is a fine-tuned ballad made of strong women, lost love, and family secrets. The characters are ones I recognize via my own ancestors, and its setting--from Cumberland Gap to Pound--is a place I know and love. This is a novel I will long remember." --Karen Salyer McElmurray, author of Wanting Radiance and I Could Name God in Twelve Ways

"Cathy Rigg's ability to evoke place is special. While reading her captivating debut novel, That Which Binds Us, one feels the mountains of Southwest Virginia beneath one's feet. The ridges and seasons fill the reader's eyes, nose, and ears--a literary feat made more astonishing by the equally dizzying ease with which Rigg transports her reader to a world nearly two centuries gone. Research and imagination meld with crack storytelling skills to make That Which Binds Us a brilliant depiction of the Civil War years in the Appalachian mountains and one humdinger of a read." --Robert Gipe, author of Trampoline, Weedeater, and Pop