Eleanor Rushing — Patty Friedmann

"Eleanor Rushing is a first-person narrative tour-de-force. While Eleanor is blessed with acute powers of observation and the ability to remember everything, her recollections and impressions are nevertheless often at odds with those of the people around her. As her ""relationship"" with a local married Methodist minister spins out of control, the loquacious and endearing Eleanor manages to charm us completely. Even as we begin to realize that surviving a childhood marred by tragedy has exacted a terrible toll, we can''t help being her willing and faithful admirers."