Our Daily Bread, A Novel by Lauren B. Davis

Our Daily Bread (Wordcraft of Oregon, October 2011), examines the conflict of group identities which gives rise to the concept of “us” versus “them.” It is the God-fearing but imperfect townspeople of Gideon versus the Erskine Clan, the backward inhabitants of nearby North Mountain who cook methamphetamine and conduct despicable acts against their children. Denigration or demonization of a group by negative images, stereotypes, and misrepresentations creates “The Others”—the ultimate form of disparagement.

Ms. Davis takes the real life story of the infamous Goler Clan of Nova Scotia, a clan of poor, rural, inbred families known for child abuse, sexual abuse and incest to create her story. The religiously intolerant, puritanical people of Gideon in her novel shun the Erskine Clan because “they are beyond salvation.”

Our Daily Bread sees a young man who wants a better life renounce the identity of his group—he comes down from the mountain—and this action sets in motion a chain of shocking events. The book remains a powerful paradigm on the effects of religious intolerance and social disintegration on two, troubled and conflicting
subcultures and is a parable of any conflicts by any disparate groups—present or past—and the resulting consequences. In the extreme, witness the genocides in Nazi Germany or Darfur.

Ms. Davis’ previous book, The Stubborn Season (Harper Perennial Canada, 2002) was the subject of the TVOntario Series, “Big Ideas.” Her novel, The Radiant City (HarperCollins Canada, 2005), was a finalist for the Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize. An Unrehearsed Desire (Exile Editions, 2008) was recognized by the Relit Awards which acknowledges the best work of independent publishers.

**I was sent this book so that I could post this release.  I wasn't paid to post it.**