Through the Back Gate: Experiences and Stories of Life Close to the Land (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780595465095)

Pertaining to Sam Bevard's previous book, Beginning Again: Opening Day and Other Tales, Kentucky author Garry Barker, author of Mountain Passage, has said: ". The characters, locations, and stories are real, powerful, and written in plain English. Sam's direct style keeps the author from interfering with his fiction, a rare talent, and he knows what he writes. I look forward to his next collection."

And here it is. This collection presents an assortment of lyric essays and rural-themed fiction in which the author explores the timeless and enduring relationship of people to place. This volume celebrates nature and the mystic thread that holds residents to their rural Kentucky roots. We find here characters both new and familiar to the author's readers as they undergo grief, romance, trouble and triumph, including: Mitch Willis, the scoffer who meets evil and redemption beneath creek waters, the adventurous and doomed Tom Bovairt, an exceptional bird dog and Charlie Tait, the remarkable boy who trained him, an aging John Hunter as he contemplates the past and future, and young Jeremiah Dale, about to face the test of war. In this second book, Sam Bevard branches out from fishing and hunting themes to encompass a wider slice of human experience.