In today’s episode 181, we visit with Susan Zurenda, author of Bells for Eli, a compelling coming of age story where culture, family, friends, bullies, and lovers propel two young people to unite to guard each other in small-town Green Branch, SC where love, hope, and connectedness ultimately triumph.

In 1959, three-year-old Eli Winfield has a horrible, preventable accident that leaves him permanently scarred and the victim of vicious bullying. His first cousin, Delia Green, becomes his fierce defender and advocate, and the pair develop an inseparable bond. As they reach adolescence, their relationship evolves into a deeper, more complex love.

Jill McCorkle, author of Life and Life says says Susan Beckham Zurenda’s “finely detailed, debut novel, paints a vivid portrait of Adeline Green who is growing up in the seventies and maneuvering class differences, peer pressure, and first love. The sexual confines of her southern town as well as taboo family secrets from the past, bring her face to face with life changing decisions and losses in ways both moving and profound.”