To the best of the Author’s knowledge, this book contains true stories about the life and times of the David Alex Turner family from 1898 to 1921. There were no secrets among the folk that lived in the Pine Mountain Region of Kentucky. Everyone knew that Alex Turner was an old man with "strange" powers. They also knew that his daughter Judy could shoot like a man and had the same powers. But no one knew about the Black Heart Book ... Between courtroom cases, turkey shoots, the attacks of moonshiners and rabid dogs, Rosezelle Boggs-Qualls reveals with stunning insight the struggles of her great-grandfather and of her grandmother, a fiercely independent woman, who overcame the adversities of abandonment and divorce to carve a path to success for herself and her two young daughters.

What Readers Are Saying…

“We’ve always held a certain fascination for people with ‘the touch,’ folks who can spell animals and heal the sick. Rosezelle Boggs Qualls gives us an intriguing story of her great grandfather, Alex Turner, who sought to use such powers for good, even though some accused him of witchcraft. Set against the backdrop of the rugged southeastern Kentucky landscape, The Black Heart Book brings to life how one family dealt with triumph and tragedy as it carved its own mark in the story of the Kentucky Appalachian Mountains."

Hardcover editions of The Black Heart Book are now available directly from the publisher for $31.95, plus $3 shipping and handling.

You can also order a paperback copy of The Black Heart Book directly from Densmore Reid Publications for only $17.95 (plus $3 shipping & handling).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

From the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky comes one of the twenty first century's most powerful writers. Her words will carry you back to a life and time that has all but vanished from the face of the Earth.

Rosezelle Boggs Qualls grew up in Sunshine and Harlan Kentucky. A born tom boy, she spent her days exploring the mountainsides, trails, streams, caves and abandoned mines of the Pine Mountains. From her grandmother's mouth to her ears, Rosezelle learned at a tender age of the adventures, and deeds of her great grandfather, David Alex Turner. (1822- 1929) She was particularly fascinated by tales of how he had "spelled" animals and people, and healed the sick. Likewise, Judy Turner Smith (1884-1976) filled Rosezelle's mind with detailed images of the people, places and events which touched and changed her own life. After Rosezelle left home at the age of 12 as a high school freshman to attend the Pine Mountain Settlement School, she recalled many of these stories.

In spite of a serious hearing impairment, she graduated from High School at age 16. In 1946 she met and married William (Buck) Qualls. Her husband is totally deaf. Rosezelle is a graduate of Wright State University.

Having been a social worker in the Dayton and Akron Ohio area for more than 30 years, Rosezelle researched, and, together with me, wrote a landmark book about a totally deaf and totally blind woman from Massillon, Ohio, entitled "Walking Free: The Nellie Zimmerman Story. After completing that work, she returned to the Pine Mountains to visit the Big Laurel cemetery, where her great grandfather and her grandmother are buried. Suddenly, she heard the unmistakable voice of her grandmother, "Glory to God! Now, tell the world what you know--what I told you!"

The Black Heart Book chronicles those events which shaped the life of the Turner family between 1898 and 1921. To the best of the author’s knowledge, the stories contained in this book are true. The events described herein have been confirmed by members of the immediate Turner family and by the recorded history of Harlan County, Kentucky.

Get ready for a wild ride. As one reviewer put it, "This is the best story about people living between the forces of good and evil that I have ever read."
 

Rev. Dr. Daryl C. Greene
Editor and Friend