Based on the unsolved murder of Nancy Morgan, VISTA volunteer in Madison County, North Carolina in June 1970, and the trial and acquittal fifteen years later of another VISTA charged with the crime, the story focuses on the life/times of the fictional main character, Mary Moran. Many current issues hidden from view more than a quarter century ago: child abuse, female passivity and sexuality, incest, domestic violence, and sadomasochism are explored. An excerpt,  "Out of Dodge", won a 1994 Achievement Award in Fiction from Now & Then. An earlier version was a 1995 semifinalist selected by the Heekin Foundation.

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Tags: The Moon It Gives No Light, Christina Pacosz, ABNA Top 100 Semifinalist 2008