She Got Up Off the Couch

Picking up where A Girl Named Zippy left off, Haven Kimmel crafts a tender portrait of her mother, a modestly heroic woman who took the odds that life gave her and somehow managed to win. When we last saw Zippy, she was oblivious to the storm that was brewing in her home. Her mother, Delonda, had literally just gotten up off the couch and ridden her rickety bicycle down the road. Her dad was off somewhere, gambling or "working." And Zippy was lost in her own fabulous world of exploring the fringes of Mooreland, Indiana. Increasingly frustrated with the limitations of her small-town, married-with-children life, Delonda decides first to learn how to drive a car, even though she won't have access to one. Next, she applies to the local college, eventually graduating with honors at age 40. We happily follow Zippy from one story to another, but we know this is really her mother's book -- the poignant tale of a strong woman who found a way to save herself and set a proud example for her daughter. Haven Kimmel is also the author of Something Rising (Light and Swift), The Solace of Leaving Early, and the award-winning children's book Orville: A Dog Story. She studied English and creative writing at Ball State University and North Carolina State University and attended seminary at the Earlham School of Religion. She loves shooting pool and was once accused in Sunday school of loving animals more than God. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.