Roll the Stone Away: A Family’s Legacy of Racism and Abuse

Roll the Stone Away is the true story that influenced the award-winning Black Mountain novel series. Ann Hite, in her storytelling mode, envisions a sack of stones poised to hang around her neck the moment she is born and added to throughout her childhood by her grandmother and mother. Each stone represents a family story that forms who Hite becomes as an adult. Generations of abuse, racism, adultery, and lies populate this sordid history. In the midst of the telling are strong, flawed women who are far from good role-models for a young Hite but show that survival and success in the worst scenarios are not always lost. Along with stories of murder and madness are the ghost tales Hite is so well-known for writing. Readers may find themselves pondering if real people aren’t scarier than any ghost could ever be. The author hopes when readers emerge on the other side of this memoir, they have a better understanding of what it takes to survive one’s history and own it without shame.