Michael Dritz

Where the Whippoorwills Sing

As far as birds go, Whippoorwills are country dwellers. They are not much on city life. You most likely will never see one. They fly mostly by night and nestle on the ground by day, but they are so well-camouflaged that they become one with their surroundings making it nearly impossible to see them. But, if you are fortunate enough to live in the country, there is a good chance, in the dark of night, that you will hear them sing out their lonesome call for companionship.

This is the story of the Bailey family and their neighbors, country dwellers. It is the story of a boy, Rosco, growing up in the rural South of the 1970s with an alcoholic father, Daniel, and a virtuous mother, Lizzy. The story follows the events in his life, the kindnesses and the love, the disappointments and losses, as he struggles with the imponderables of life.