Opal, by Jo Ann Kiser

A life stretched across time, place, and the enduring power of memory.

From the hills of Kentucky to the cities of the Eastern United States, Opal Beauleigh Ferguson navigates a life of change, loss, and quiet persistence. Raised on Sarvis Creek, she carries the rhythms of her childhood even as her family moves from town to town, never quite settling, never quite forgetting.

Married at fifteen to Wendell Ferguson, Opal confronts the trials of early adulthood—poverty, illness, and family upheaval—while nurturing a hidden talent for art that becomes her lifeline. Through intimate sketches of her family at the oak table, the ethereally white sarvis blooms of her hills, and the fiery red-and-orange Pegasus of childhood adventure, she preserves the magic and resilience of her past.

Opal: A Kentucky Woman is a multi-generational exploration of family, creativity, and the enduring ties that root us to home.