Growing up around the middle of the last century, Neely Rose Waller-the youngest of sixteen children-dreams of becoming the first member of her poor Tennessee mountain family to go to college. A dedicated teacher shows her the way, and, after initial skepticism, her barely literate father, Laban Waller, gives unstinting support. Also firmly in her corner is her boyfriend, Joel Crabtree, a high-school classmate and aspiring author. Just as her dream comes true, disaster intervenes, testing her grit to the limit. Neely Rose's story is one that will warm readers' hearts and long linger in their thoughts.