Girl from Soldier Creek — Patricia Foster

Sisters Amanda and Jit Soldier grow up in the secluded beauty of Soldier Creek, Alabama, the place that Jit and their father love most in the world, the place that Amanda and their mother most want to leave. After their parents' marriage falls apart, the girls and their mother stay in Soldier Creek. That is, until Amanda wins a scholarship to prestigious Trinity College, leaving Jit alone with the mother who has long been needy and dependent toward Amanda but emotionally distant and neglectful toward Jit. While Amanda considers herself a rising star, the one who can rescue the family from financial and social ruin by the force of her ambition, Jit longs only for the solace of wilderness and water and the kindness of an eccentric father. What neither sister can see is the collision of events that will initiate a journey of discovery, compelling Jit to run away from Soldier Creek and Amanda to fail in her belief in intellectual salvation. In Girl from Soldier Creek , the sisters must learn how to disentangle themselves from their home, their dysfunctional family, and ultimately, from each other to discover who they will become after leaving Soldier Creek.