Synopses & Reviews
Life can be beautiful, but it takes a little work... “The problem with cutting your own hair is that once you start, you just keep cutting, trying to fix it, and the truth is, some things can never be fixed. The day of my daddy’s funeral, I cut my bangs until they were the length of those little paintbrushes that come with dime-store watercolor sets. I was nine years old. People asked me why I did it, but I was too young then to know I was changing my hair because I wanted to change my life.”
In 1983, on her nineteenth birthday, Zora Adams finally says goodbye to her alcoholic mother and their tiny town in the mountains of South Carolina. Living with a woman who dresses like Judy Garland and brings home a different man each night is not a pretty existence, and Zora is ready for life to be beautiful.
With the help of a beloved teacher, she moves to a coastal town and enrolls in the Davenport School of Beauty. Under the tutelage of Mrs. Cathcart, she learns the art of fixing hair, and becomes fast friends with the lively Sara Jane Farquhar, a natural hair stylist. She also falls hard for handsome young widower Winston Sawyer, who is drowning his grief in bourbon. She couldn’t save Mama, but maybe she can save him.
As Zora practices finger waves, updos, and spit curls, she also comes to learn that few things are permanent in this life—except real love, lasting friendship, and, ultimately… forgiveness.
Review
"As we’ve long suspected our hair can define us. It can also teach us things about ourselves that will surprise and change us.
The Wisdom of Hair is a lovely, engaging novel! Zora Adams is a heroine to root for!"—Wendy Wax
"The Wisdom of Hair has a big beating heart, and I couldn't put it down. What I loved best about the book was the pervasive kindness; page after page, good people try their best, sometimes succeeding, and sometimes failing. It's hard to write an engaging novel about (mostly) nice people, but Kim Boykin has pulled it off."—Ann Napolitano
Review
Praise for The Wisdom of Hair “In Kim Boykins novel, hair is not only wise, its witty and eloquent...The Wisdom of Hair is a lovely, engaging novel. Zora Adams is a heroine to root for!”—Wendy Wax, national bestselling author of While We Were Watching Downton Abbey
“The Wisdom of Hair has a big, beating heart, and I couldnt put it down. What I loved best about the book was the pervasive kindness; page after page, good people try their best, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing. Its hard to write an engaging novel about (mostly) nice people, but Kim Boykin has pulled it off.”—Ann Napolitano, author of A Good Hard Look
“In the tradition of Wendy Waxs Single in Suburbia and Ann Napolitanos Within Arms Reach comes the Southern tale of Zora Adams, daughter of an alcoholic Judy Garland impersonator.”—Library Journal
“Well-drawn characters and depth lie beneath the beauty treatments in this affecting debut.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Boykin is a new voice in southern womens fiction, and her strong, flawed female characters should appeal to fans of Dorothea Benton Frank and Karen White.”—Booklist
“Filled with quirky characters and a lot of heart…A story that readers will want to savor.”—RT Book Reviews
“Boykins Faulkner-esque regionalism heightens the interest…A little sentimental, a little raw, and a lot local...A thoughtful but breezy poolside read—or fireside read.”—Fort Mill Times (SC)
Review
“Boykin...knows how to tell a story that will charm and fascinate her readers.”—
The Huffington Post “Kim Boykins ability to set the scene is incredible...A beautifully authentic and inspiring story.”—A Novel Thought
“Kept me captivated...This read is like a breath of fresh air.”—A Southern Girls Bookshelf
Synopsis
June, 1947. Charleston is poised to celebrate the biggest wedding in high-society history, the joining of two of the oldest families in the city. Except the bride is nowhere to be found
Unlike the rest of the debs she grew up with, Vada Hadley doesnt see marrying Justin McLeod as a blessingshe sees it as a life sentence. So when she finds herself one day away from a wedding she doesnt want, shes left with no choice but to run away from the future her parents have so carefully planned for her.
In Round O, South Carolina, Vada finds independence in the unexpected friendships she forms at the boarding house where she stays, and a quiet yet fulfilling courtship with the local diner owner, Frank Darling. For the first time in her life, she finally feels like shes where shes meant to be. But when her dear friend Darby hunts her down, needing help, Vada will have to confront the life she gave upand decide where her heart truly belongs.
Synopsis
Palmetto Moon inspired The Huffington Post to rave, It is always nice to discover a new talented author and Kim Boykin is quite a find.” Now, she delivers a novel of a woman picking up the pieces of her life with the help of two spirited, elderly sisters in South Carolina. April, 1953. Nettie Gilbert has cherished her time studying to be a music teacher at Columbia College in South Carolina, but as graduation approaches, she cant wait to return to her familyand her childhood sweetheart, Brooksin Alabama. But just days before her senior recital, she gets a letter from her mama telling her that Brooks is getting married . . . to her own sister.
Devastated, Nettie drops out of school and takes a job as live-in help for two old-maid sisters, Emily and Lurleen Eldridge. Emily is fiercely protective of the ailing Lurleen, but their sisterhood has weathered many storms. And as Nettie learns more about their lives on a trip to see a faith healer halfway across the country, shell discover that love and forgiveness will one day lead her home . . .
About the Author
Kim Boykin learned about women and their hair in her mother’s beauty shop in a tiny South Carolina town. She loves to write stories about strong Southern women, because that’s what she knows. Kim is an accomplished public speaker, serves on the board of the South Carolina Writer’s Workshop, and edits the organization’s monthly newsletter. She lives with her husband, three dogs, and 126 rose bushes. Visit her website to learn more about her second passion after writing, food.