Hope Mills

the long version

It is 1959 in Hope Mills. Cotton is giving way to synthetic fiber; mill work is declining; race relations are volatile; the nearby military base is expanding; girls and women too often are trapped economically and socially; men are losing the assurance of secure work and dominion over their families. Through the eyes of Tollie and Lily, two school chums who are each other's salvation, Constance Pierce chronicles a time of enormous change and difficulty and ends on a note of endurance and triumph.