Lovable Courageous Callie

Tommie Plier Mitchell. Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, 2011. 164 pp. (Paperback).

“Lovable Courageous Callie” is about the author’s mother, who was widowed at a young age and left to raise seven children alone. The Pliers lived in Chilton and Bibb counties, where Callie and her husband, then Callie alone, struggled to make a living by farming, selling butter and making quilts.

The family and friends of Callie and her children will certainly be overjoyed to have this family history written down in a form they can cherish. The self-published book is basically a series of memories of various family members accompanied by photos and copies of artifacts like a mortgage on the family property and an old driver’s license. While it should be a keepsake for relatives and friends, “Lovable Courageous Callie” is in need of editing and organization and is too personal to be destined for commercial success.