Bettie MacIntyre

The Hollow Bettie MacIntyre

The Hollow is Irene's story, and the loving relationship between a grandmother and granddaughter. A pathology of metaphorical memories in short story form. Irene was born at the onset of WWII, in a small town at the Elephant Mountain's foothills, known as The Hollow, in Vermont. Her parents sought employment in Connecticut to support the industrial war effort, leaving their infant baby, Irene, with her elderly grandparents. Her gram became her mother, who taught her at an early age about life, death, and rebirth at a systemic level, and how to embrace it with love. Prayer and church were the basics of the family, and a foundation that followed her throughout life. A naive country girl whose best friend was Bessie, the cow. Gram taught her to read and write from the Bible. She experiences her grampa's death, the birth of a baby sister, and in a brief time, her mother's passing. All the stories are heartfelt embedded memories; from Irene's gram teaching her to swim, and her fifth Christmas present, a red hair ribbon. Throughout her life, she had the greatest love and foundation a child could possess. She promised she would care for her gram and sister and, in their end, validated it with a final kiss. The Hollow is a poignant, sensitive story readers of all ages will enjoy.