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A book review by Norgie Hester

I recently had the opportunity to read Bladen County native David Howard Faircloth’s book “Before My Very Eyes.” Since I grew up in virtually the same generation, I was able to relate to the same experience that David brings forth in this book. David mixes in with some great Southern authors such as William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, and my two favorites… Lewis Grizzard and Dr. Guy Owen, Jr. from Clarkton.

If you ever worked in a tobacco field, walked to school, saw scary lights on the railroad tracks, or rode your bicycle from Clarkton to Lisbon to play a baseball game, you will find similar experiences in this book. David brings your thoughts back to the time you were allowed to use your father’ shotgun to venture into the woods during the Christmas season to shoot some mistletoe down for Christmas decorations.

The characters David relates to in this book are characters we all have known in Bladen County. Not only is David a talented author, he is also a talented musician, singer, and songwriter. You will enjoy this book just as I did.

On the author’s Facebook page, he posted details about the distribution of the book, stating, “I self-published the book using Palmetto Press in Charleston, S.C., and am very pleased with the final product. You won’t find it online or in bookstores because we only printed a limited number due to the cost of getting it published. If, by chance, all my copies sell, I will have more printed. This isn’t a for-profit venture I assure you. As a matter of fact, if I recoup my investment, I will be happy. I just want to have my memories available for friends and family to share with me, and I wanted to make sure they were not lost someday with my passing.

The book is priced at $15.00 and there is a $5.00 mailing cost as well if you would like to have it mailed to you. Just email me or message me on Facebook and include your mailing address. My email is dhf12278@gmail.com. Online payments can be made via Venmo if you have a Venmo account. Make the Venmo payment to @David-Faircloth-11. Sorry, but I can’t accept checks. I encourage you to put your mailing address in an email or private message on Messenger instead of including it in the comments section of this post. Overseas mailings aren’t available yet due to the high costs involved.

We plan to have a couple of book signings in the near future, one at our home and one at Cape Fear Winery in Elizabethtown, N.C. Hopefully, the Winery signing will include a time for me to perform some original tunes in between signing times. I will also have books available this year at Jerome Jam on October 14 as well if you would care to purchase one. The book signing dates will be announced later.

Thanks to all who have encouraged me over the years in this project, and I hope you enjoy reading my book as much as I have enjoyed writing it.”