Bridge of the Single Hair [Paperback]

Candida Lall Pugh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2011

In a cramped cell in the maximum security unit of Mississippi State Prison--the notorious Parchman Farm--Jeri Turner squats on the concrete floor and leans into the vent hung above the toilet. The voice rumbling through the vent rhapsodizes about feasts of strawberries and chocolate cake while around him inmates are starving.

When she's released, Jeri risks her own life and the life of someone she loves to uncover the truth about the mysterious prisoner. That truth gives her the answer to a question flung at her by her fellow volunteers, one that seared her conscience: Is it right to rouse an evil giant when you have no hope of slaying him?

Editorial Reviews

Review

NAMED TO Kirkus Reviews' Best of 2011.

A former Freedom Rider, the author illustrates the frustration, anger, fear and idealism of youth in her spirited, sharp-tongued protagonist. 

kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/indie/candida-pugh/bridge-of-the-single-hair/#review

Bridge of the Single Hair is an utterly mesmerizing story that I was unable to stop reading (indeed, I was late for an appointment because I had to finish this book!). The author has an amazing way of engaging the reader and bringing her into the life of Jeri.

featheredquill.com/reviews/biographies/pugh.shtml

. . . no holds barred novel that takes the reader back to the conditions and struggles that were at their height during that time. Excellent book . . . 

misslynnsbooks-n-more.blogspot.com/search?q=Bridge+of+the+Single+Hair

Using . . .  creative license and skills, Pugh has given the world something that will withstand the test of time and be recognized for what it is: a literary treasure sure to entertain and inspire.

lunch.com/Reviews/book/Bridge_of_the_Single_Hair-1758620.html

About the Author

Candida Lall Pugh, a former Freedom Rider, arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, in July of 1961, spent a month in the maximum security unit at Parchman Farm. Currently, she lives with her husband near Chicago, Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Langdon Street Press (a division of Hillcrest Publishing Group, Inc.); 1 edition (August 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1936782286
• ISBN-13: 978-1936782284
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #986,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A friend of mine who hobnobbed with many well-known characters in San Francisco used to describe herself as a "well known unknown." I describe myself as the most-agented unpublished writer on the Continent. Having had three top-notch agents love my work and attempt to sell it, I finally had to go it alone. You can find my funny essays by googling my name--I made the NY Times, Canadian Globe & Mail, and some women's site with a piece on being a shopaholic. My novel, Bridge of the Single Hair, contains some true incidents but is a work of fiction, an effort to render as gripping the history of the struggle against racial segregation (American apartheid). It's a history rapidly slipping away as few young people know anything about it.

On the lighter side--where I often dwell--I'm working on a book, Dances With Poodles, based roughly on my experience adopting an 80-pound biting poodle named Henry. I used to say about him that he thought I was the "girlfriend of the leader of the pack." He never brought me flowers but, unlike abusive men, Henry did come around in the end.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bridge to the past August 19, 2011

By Lori M. Thoma

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Candida Pugh does not patronize her readers and is as brave on the page as she was in 1961. In a beautiful use of language the characters and story are easily visualized, though sometimes uncomfortably, as the novel gives a snapshot of Jim Crow South in all its ugliness. She forces one to consider the dangers and choices of the diverse individuals who worked together to confront the injustices endured on a daily basis by people merely trying to live their lives as human beings with basic human rights. This novel definitely challenges one's comfort zone on many levels, especially if white and having lived far removed from such systemic racism. The only disappointment was that the story wasn't longer to delve further into these characters and the era in which they lived.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Strength Of The Human Spirit Flexes In BRIDGE TO THE SINGLE HAIR August 6, 2011

By C. A. Webb TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

For many of us there is no true sign of what we are able to accomplish until we have been tested and that strength is able to show itself and flex its muscles. This is what we see in Candida Pugh's BRIDGE OF THE SINGLE HAIR.

We are taken into the very real fight against racism and segregation and introduced to the feisty yet determined Jeri Turner. Through her fight against injustice and those who she is joined with along the way, we are able to see exactly what was accomplished in America some short 40 or so years ago. No matter what she was faced with, Jeri remained focused on her goal of equality for all, even when it seemed as though those with the power and the authority to block her were sure to prevail.

A novel that takes historical references and events and mixes in strong characters and life lessons, BRIDGE OF THE SINGLE HAIR shows that in the end it is not race or circumstances that divide us but the ability of those to fight for what they know is right instead of standing idly by on the sidelines.

This is a book that should be read and shared by people all over the world that want to be reminded of exactly what so many went through in order for us to have the privileges that made the election of America's 44th President even possible. Using pieces of the world she got to know firsthand and her creative license and skills, Pugh had given the world something that will withstand the test of time and be recognized for what it is: a literary treasure sure to entertain and inspire.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Highest marks to this book! August 5, 2011

By GJ

Format:Paperback

Bridge of the Single Hair is EXCITING! both because it's a real "page turner" and because it offers a first-hand look into the passion for justice and moral choices that drive a young white woman to journey to Mississippi to join the Freedom Rides in 1961. The story is loosely based on the real-life experience of author Candida Pugh, and as such, is very real. I couldn't put the book down, wondering what Jeri, the heroine in the book would decide. Will she find the truth to the challenge put to her by a young black death row inmate (who she meets when she herself is arrested for civil disobedience in Mississippi)? Will she continue to fight for what is right, or will she give in to those around her who urge her to play it safe, to not rock the boat so hard? The book is filled with drama and many moments of "comic relief" as Jeri struggles to make sense of the civil rights movement, relations to her own family, fellow Freedom Riders, and the black masses she is working so hard to help free. Coming from those times myself, I couldn't help but to enjoy the way Candida Pugh magnificently weaves this very complex story -- one journey of a young woman coming of age in the tumultuous and soul-searching times of the 1960s.