One can learn a lot by shopping at Trader Joe’s, and I’m not talking about the difference between tofu and tempeh or which seasonal items are in stock. I’m referring to life skills and reminders of humanity that shine brightly at this gem of an establishment. Though I live in Haywood County, I’m in Asheville a couple of times each week and on at least one of those occasions, I visit Trader Joe’s. 

Not all domestic violence victims escape. Some are too ashamed or fearful to leave. Some are bound by cultures or communities that do not fully respect women, where judgment and reputation outweigh survival. The age when victims simply endure is still with us. That was the case of a woman named Martha who died a few years ago in Western North Carolina. 

In a book written in a first-person, vulnerable and intimately entertaining narrative oral storytelling voice, Ken Smith takes us through his entire life — of youthful globe-trotting adventure and hardship, to an eventual life of self-sufficiency and spiritual awareness in Scotland.