Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen (Jill)
Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen
By Susan Gregg Gilmore
Completed May 24, 2008
Looking for a light but entertaining poolside read this summer? If so, then I would recommend Susan Gregg Gilmore’s debut novel, Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen.
It’s the story of Catherine Grace Cline, the preacher’s daughter, of Ringgold, Ga. Catherine Grace had been planning her departure from her one stoplight town as long as she could remember. The first part of the book explored her childhood, including the loss of her mother, her befriending of the town “floozy”, the trials and tribulations of being the preacher’s kid, and all creatures big and small in this sleepy Georgia town. The last half of the book was about Catherine Grace’s exodus to Atlanta and eventual return to Ringgold because of a family tragedy. Was big city life all Catherine Grace hoped it to be? Or did she decide that small-town life was perfect after all? I won’t tell you Catherine Grace’s decision, but I think you may have fun reading her journey of self-discovery – with Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen as her therapy.
Personally, I related to Catherine Grace. I fled to more “metropolitan” cities – Macon and Atlanta – to attend college and was bewitched by the allure of these Southern cities. I stayed in Georgia for eight years and loved every minute of it. But the reality of aging parents 500 miles away wielded its ugly head, and I made the decision to move home. I am glad I did. There is, after all, no place like home.
Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen is the quintessential Southern book. Gilmore’s writing style was fun and approachable but serious when it needed to be. If you like reading about Southern towns, characters and culture, then this is the book for you. I look forward to reading more from this promising new Southern writer. ( 
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Thanks,
Walter