A Woman in Time: A Novel

Written by Bobi Conn

Narrated by Shannon McManus

A woman challenges the constraints of life in Prohibition-era Appalachia in this sweeping and richly rewarding novel about endurance, survival, and redemption.

The McKenzie women, empowered with a formidable history rooted in the foothills of Appalachia, have passed down their folk-healing wisdom through generations. Rosalee, the last living headstrong daughter in Granny McKenzie’s line, soaked up everything she could about the secrets of the forest before a series of tragedies left her alone, without the protection of the women who came before her.

The close-knit ties of Rosalee’s childhood are long gone. Now, at her eastern Kentucky farm, she bears a marriage with a volatile bootlegger. She struggles with the demands of motherhood. And her independence is relegated to its “proper place”: under the thumb of men. Her optimism dimming, Rosalee finds solace in the Kentucky woods, a space that holds secret powers of protection from a life Rosalee can no longer control. To the graves of her female ancestors, beside the waters of an enchanting spring, Rosalee returns time and again to consider her future—and discovers a mysterious connection to her past.

As Rosalee wrestles with her isolation, with being a wife in an increasingly dangerous marriage, and with being a woman of her time, she must draw on her strength and resilience to survive—and to protect—on her own terms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Aug 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781713663669

Bobi Conn

Bobi Conn was born in Morehead, Kentucky, and raised in a nearby holler, where she developed a deep connection with the land and her Appalachian roots. She obtained her bachelor’s degree at Berea College, the first school in the American South to integrate racially and to teach men and women in the same classrooms. After struggling as a single mother, she worked five part-time jobs at once to support her son and to attend graduate school, where she earned a master’s degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing. In addition to writing, Bobi loves playing pool, telling jokes, cooking, being in the woods, attempting to grow a garden, and spending time with her incredible children.

Reviews for A Woman in Time

[Victoria Papstein · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book! Reminds me how lucky I am to be born much later in the century. So sad what woman endured 100 years ago! Shoot not too long ago either!

[Lamargo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am not happy about all the dead air left by this reader. Frustrating to say the least! The story itself was quite good.

[Rickey Beauchamp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a sad good book about the lives of women not too long ago. And even more sad, is still the way some women have to live and if we are not careful many women will live again. I wanted the women and Micheal to take up the moonshine with fruits and turn that into a huge money maker and I wanted the salesman to come back...I am writing the follow up book in my mind.

[Janet Hebbert · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Skillfully written and beautifully narrated story of some women's lives in rural Kentucky circa 1920-30s. Lots of sorrow but also lots of resilience. I couldn't stop listening!

[Sandra Werkmeister · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This a boring book. Character development is null. Nothing really happens.

[Kim Ring · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good book, well written. Loved the performer. Sad recollection of life in the 30s

[Linda Smith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderfully written. I could not stop listening to this book an intriguing storyline and rich characters.