McGUFFEY — “For years I have watched my parents go through so many trials and funny situations and for years I have said, ‘Mom, you and Dad are the toughest people on the planet and someone should write a book about you and Dad’s life.’ After saying that for so many years, I thought, ‘Why not me?’ T.J. Carter said.
“Truthfully, we have had some really unique situations that I think make us special,” she added. “There is less than 1 percent of the population in America that has been diagnosed with our type of bone disease, called osteogenesis imperfecta, it’s also called brittle bones. We have no elasticity in them. Most bones will give a little under pressure ours just snap, not to mention all the other trials that we have overcome.”
Carter grew up in McGuffey and tells the story of her parents, Aster and Drucilla Watts and the family that they raised. The time frame of the book is 1968 to 1980.
“My grandparents came to Ohio from Hueysville/Mousie, Kentucky, area in southeastern Kentucky, looking for work,” she said. “My father’s side was coal miners. My mother’s family came from the same Kentucky area but then moved to Indiana where they made bombs and bullets for the war, moved back to Kentucky and then to Ohio.”
“Back the Lane” is a book of hope and inspiration as the reader journeys with the family through Watts’ family struggles with bone diseases, gunshots, tornadoes and total destruction of the family home.
“In a nutshell it is all the goofy and stupid things we did growing up, and God allowed us to live and grow stronger from it,” Carter said. “No matter what, family is the strongest bond on Earth. My family and yours is probably the funniest, weirdest and most supportive group that you will ever be apart of, enjoy it.”
Carter has three siblings, Jeff, Tracy and Jackie, Carter being the third born.
“My sister and I were born on the same day but one year apart. Tracy is two years older then me and Jeff two years older then him,” she said. “At the beginning of the book I am 3 to 4 years old. By the end of the book I am 14 to 15 years old.”
Carter graduated from Magoffin County High School in 1984 and went on to Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Kentucky.
“’Back the Lane’ is literally talking about the mile long lane where we lived growing up,” Carter said. “The lane, led to a dump, I mean a real dump, like washers, old cars, etc. Most dumps are off the main road, this was no different. So from the house to the store or the ‘main road,’ which was still a county road, it was right at one mile.”
When asked about her favorite story Carter said, “Wow that is a hard one. I like so many because if I didn’t like them they didn’t make the cut to get in the book. But different people associate with different stories. If you are looking for funny, I guess the rooster running me up the swing set and me not coming down until he was dead. Well, Dad came and killed the rooster and we had chicken and dumplings for dinner that night, so I got my revenge.”
The stories are not all funny, she shares challenges the family faced and heartbreak as well.
“There were several chapters that took their toll on me,” she said. “One was when the house burned and so many people in McGuffey brought things like clothes and food and furniture. Writing this now I am tearing up. McGuffey, Alger and Roundhead people are the best. We all helped each other if we needed it all the time. We looked out for each other.”
Often experiences are about perspective and family members usually have different perspectives so writing about family experiences can be tricky.
“My mom is just now reading the book, but she said that she was on the ninth chapter now and she still liked me, so I guess it was OK. My dad said he laughed a lot and he knew what was going to happen. He was very proud of me,” Carter said.
Some of her family members were surprised she was writing a book.
“They were surprised because they have heard me speak. I tend to butcher the English language,” she said. “If it weren’t for my sister-in-law, Marianna, I don’t think anyone could understand any of the stories. She makes me sound good.”
Carter spent about five years writing the book and a lot of things happened to her family in a short amount of time but she also has a second book in the works to follow where this one leaves off.
“Yes, there will be at least one more, if it’s the Lord’s will. My niece has already told me there must be another because she isn’t in this one,” she said. “I hope to have it done by Christmas of this year. But I am not putting a specific date. God kind of gives the first rough draft then it takes a while to tweak it.”
For years she recorded things with informal writing so it was no surprise to her daughter that she wrote this one.
“Three months before I delivered Savannah I started writing letters to her about all the doctor’s visits,” she said. “Later it would be all the funny things she was doing and her day-to-day life.”
A dump is a creative wonderland to children. Carter and her siblings were no different.
“We all spent all of our ‘after-school specials’ cleaning up the old appliances and garbage in the yard,” Carter said. “There were several small buildings all over the property so we tore down and cleaned up a lot. The best time I did have was in the hog lot. There were two old cars that were turned upside down; I of course, only saw the Starship Enterprise and the Klingon vessel! I spent quit a bit of time climbing all over those cars and playing ‘Star Trek.’
“My crew, as I call my family, has already seen so much that you have to learn to survive and to stand for what you believe,” she added. “For instance; if you believe in God and you are never tested about what you believe, how do you know that you truly believe it and are not just talking about it? Standing for what is right is sometimes the hardest thing to do but its right it’s right. I have been told life is not cut so straight, but I believe it is. Stand for what you believe in and allow others to do the same. I can’t change people, only God can do that. I have said for a very long time, I’m still trying to get to heaven so I will just work on me.”
To order the book or contact Carter visit http://tjcarter19.wix.com/author or write to her at T.J. Carter, P.O. Box 34, McGuffey, OH 45859. The cost is $12 for soft cover and $23 for a hard cover.
