Edie Wadsworth - All the Pretty Things: The Story of a Southern Girl Who Went Through Fire to Find Her Way Home

All the Pretty Things is a transparent journey into the heart of a little girl whose broken father is her hero. I havent read a memoir like this since The Glass Castle. It takes you to the hard places, and those places bring you home. Highly recommended.

EMILY T. WIERENGA

Founder of The Lulu Tree and author of Atlas Girl and Making It Home

A bittersweet mix of crushing heartbreak and wry humor, Edies story captured me the very first page and didnt let go. An honest and unapologetic look at the reality of growing up amidst poverty and alcoholism in East Tennessee, All the Pretty Things is ultimately a story of redemption we can all relate to and one we all need to read. I literally couldnt put it down. If you only read one book this year, let this be it!

RUTH SOUKUP

New York Times bestselling author of Living Well, Spending Less and Unstuffed

Edie Wadsworth is an observer of people, a lover of words, and a masterful storyteller. All those qualities converge to make All the Pretty Things one of the best memoirs Ive ever read. I sat down with the intention of reading the first few chapters and looked up hours later to realize Id finished the entire thing. And her story, her people, and her heart stayed with me for days afterward. You will find yourself alternately cheering, laughing out loud, and crying, but I guarantee you wont be able to walk away unmoved.

MELANIE SHANKLE

New York Times bestselling author of Nobodys Cuter Than You

Part Southern gothic, Part C. S. Lewis, part pure poetry, All the Pretty Things is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time. Beautiful, heartbreaking, redemptive. I knew going into it that Id be captivated by Edies story, but what I didnt expect is how much Id fall in love with her people. Her affection for those people, in the midst of heartache and hardship and hilarity and everything in between, makes the already vivid images in this book just flat-out leap off the page. Now that Ive finished reading it, Im more awed by the author and the Author of it all than ever before. You will be too. Dont miss it.

SOPHIE HUDSON

Author of Giddy Up, Eunice and Home Is Where My People Are

The most beautiful things are born in pressure and birthed through pain. Pain is the silent author behind thousands of great stories and songs. Edies story is born of pain and rejection it is raw-throated and broken open; it is fragile and strong and bright. It is ten thousand fireflies dancing over a Tennessee field. And Edie is masterful in the telling. Read this book but more than that, open your soul and let this book read you.

JOHN SOWERS

Author of Heroic Path

Edies memoir is a rare gem in this world of books, one where I actually felt like I was growing up right alongside her. You will laugh and cry and cheer and be dismayed. Her storytelling is gripping, and it is easy to find ourselves in her shoes, looking for all the pretty things in this harsh world as we live each day, putting one foot in front of the other. The pinnacle of this piece of art are her encounters with the fiery pursuit of God the same relentless pursuit He uses to come after you and me, no matter how we try to burn it all down.

BRI M C KOY

Writer at OurSavoryLife.com, speaker, leader of Compassion Bloggers

Through Edies blog weve come to know her as a gracious, joyful soul with a passion for loving and serving others. Now within these pages we meet the innocent little girl who loved with a brave fierceness, and we champion her on as she gracefully walks through fire time and time again. We cheer alongside the perpetual cheerleader as she dusts off the ashes and holds forth with an open, hospitable hand a crown of beauty adorned with all the pretty things.

PAIGE KNUDSEN

Lifestyle and portrait photographer and blogger

Edie Wadsworth drops the needle on her lifes record and lets it play. The result is a vernacular collection of moments both beautiful and terrible; in other words, intensely human. Each reader will hear it a bit differently, but I was struck by two constant refrains: The Father will never forsake us, and theres something hauntingly precious about a daddy. Thanks, Edie.

JOHN D. BLAS

Poet and author

I looked forward to reading Edies memoir from the day I learned she was writing it. In All the Pretty Things, she shares the story of her impoverished childhood in the Appalachian foothills of Tennessee with truth and vulnerability, weaving together feelings common to childhood with experiences unique to her situation. Youll ache for Edie as a little girl, starved both for food and the time and attention of the daddy she adores. The desire for a fathers love and approval doesnt decrease with time and age, as Edie learns through the struggle and striving of her teen and adult years.

All the Pretty Things is a reflection on the importance of family and the sacred duty of parent to child; the hunger for an earthly father that sometimes only our heavenly Father can fulfill; and the truth that earthly riches are no guarantee of happiness and how easily they can all go up in smoke.

DAWN CAMP

Editor and photographer of The Gift of Friendship

Within twenty-four hours of receiving Edies book, I had read it from cover to cover. She warmly drew me into her story with her Southern charm and wit, and yet pierced my heart with the painful childhood memories of personal wounds left on her by her father. I was in awe of her strength throughout her struggles that would have left most of us in a crumpled up mess. Her story is one of enduring, hopeful love of a little girl for her earthly father, and the relentless, redemptive love of a heavenly Father for his beloved daughter.

TRACI HUTCHERSON

CEO and Founder, Beneath My Heart

Visit Tyndale online at www.tyndale.com.

Visit Tyndale Momentum online at www.tyndalemomentum.com.

Tyndale Momentum and the Tyndale Momentum logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Tyndale Momentum is an imprint of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

All the Pretty Things: The Story of a Southern Girl Who Went through Fire to Find Her Way Home

Copyright 2016 by Edie Wadsworth. All rights reserved.

Cover photograph of girl copyright Marie Sant/Offset.com. All rights reserved.

Designed by Jennifer Phelps

Edited by Bonne Steffen

Published in association with the literary agency of The Blythe Daniel Agency, P.O. Box 64197, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-4197.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The stories in this book are about real people and real events, but some names have been omitted or changed for the privacy of the individuals involved. Dialogue has been recreated to the authors best recollection.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Wadsworth, Edie, author.

Title: All the pretty things : the story of a southern girl who went through fire to find her way home / Edie Wadsworth.

Description: Carol Stream, IL : Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.