Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen: A Novel

Susan Gregg Gilmore's book, "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen," is a charming story of Catherine Grace Cline, a young girl whose dream is to leave her small town of Ringgold, Georgia and relocate to Atlanta the day she will turn 18. She had lost her mother when she was only 6. Her daddy was the local preacher, having followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him. The behavior expected of the town's only preacher's daughter was a role that did not come easily to Catherine Grace. Her little sister Martha Ann was more comfortable living up to those standards. Catherine Ann clashed with the town's elitist snobs and their children. She was much more at home when visiting her neighbor Gloria Jean, a woman who had been married five times, and who was therefore looked down upon by most of the townspeople. But Gloria Jean had been close friends with Catherine Grace's mother and was always ready to step in whenever Catherine Grace needed motherly advice. The one and only thing that Catherine Grace truly treasured about life in Ringgold was her weekly visits to the Dairy Queen, where she and her sister enjoyed Dilly Bars. There she pondered life's big questions and dreamed about her escape to Atlanta. Her Ringgold routine was interrupted when the female Sunday School teacher started joining her family for Sunday lunch at her home every week. Catherine Grace couldn't bear to think of her father being attracted to another woman. Catherine Grace began to act out, and her stunning misbehavior at a baptism resulted in her dad grounding her from going to Dairy Queen for the duration of the entire summer. Her one true joy was gone, but good-natured Gloria Jean inspired her to pursue a summer job which became a passion and helped her earn money for her eventual relocation to Atlanta. Her high school days dragged on until she unexpectedly fell in love with Hank, which put a kink in her plans, but not even her first love could derail her pursuit of her destiny. She was experiencing success in her new life in Atlanta when a tragedy drew her back home. There were shocking developments waiting her there. She then had to choose how she would spend the rest of her life. Along with the poignant story line, Gilmore inserted a heavy dose of humor, with many biblical references seen as puzzles or contradictions through a young girl's eyes. This was a very pleasurable read.

Sometimes we find what we want to leave behind us just what our heart wants all the while. We have to leave to grow into ourselves. This sweet book is that story.

Great seller. Delivered product that was just as advertised. I appreciate you!

I purchased Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore simply because I liked the title. What an incredible novel and Gilmore’s first book lived up to my expectations in every way. I couldn’t read it fast enough.Catherine Grace Cline is the daughter of a minister in the small town of Ringgold, GA. Her sister, Margaret Ann, is two years younger and their mother died in an accident when Catherine Grace was only six years old. The preacher’s daughter tries to navigate the shoals of childhood, which are often difficult as she and her sister are living under a magnifying glass. But she has big dreams to remove herself from small-town life as soon as she turns 18. In a big city, she can get away from farming, low expectations, tomato plants, and gossip. Just when Catherine Grace thinks that God is finally hearing her prayers, something horrible happens that makes her reexamine her dreams and her priorities.There are also many lessons to be learned in this novel. You don’t have to attend church to live a Christian life with a loving heart. Your friends can be the family that you create for yourself. Sometimes the dreams that you set for yourself won’t bring you happiness. And sometimes you have to give up way too much to follow those dreams. Only you can determine if the sacrifice is worth it to you. The people who love you will sometimes fail you. And even those who we think are perfect are sinners in their own way. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen is funny and sad, but always moving as we ache for Catherine Grace and the journey that she undergoes from childhood to adult. It is also very well written. Told in the first person, Catherine Grace is extremely perceptive—even when young. Catherine Grace’s father makes her dress up for church. “I really didn’t think Jesus cared what I wore to Cedar Grove Baptist Church, or to see the governor for that matter, considering the fact that in every picture I ever saw of the King of Kings, He was wearing sandals and bundled up in nothing more than a big, baggy robe.” When Reverend Cline starts pestering his daughter to “accept Jesus into my life as my Lord and Savior. I think I would have preferred he’d taken me shopping for my first bra than talked about something as personal as my salvation.” Also, “Daddy said you can see the devil in people’s eyes, but maybe the devil is nothing more than the sadness they carry around inside of them, bottled up so tight that it comes out as pure ugliness…” There is a lot of truth to that.Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen is a terrific break-out novel and I will definitely be looking for more books by Susan Gregg Gilmore.

Very good read Surprising twists when least expected. Enjoy! You won’t believe where the roads lead to those lives you’re following

The story takes place in the early 1970s in the little town of Ringgold, Georgia.It is a story about Catherine Grace Cline and her sister Martha Ann who live with their father, a charismatic third-generation Baptist preacher. Sadly their mother died in an accident when Catherine Grace was only five years old. The town has only one red light, one part-time sheriff, one post office and one Dairy Queen.On Saturday afternoons, the sisters would go to the Dairy Queen to eat their favourite Dilly bars. It is there that Catherine Grace plans her getaway to the big city of Atlanta. The town never felt right for her. She wanted a world of department stores,movie theaters, fancy restaurants and enough lights turned on at night to see the stars. Her wish was to be more than just a country girl raising babies and growing tomatoes. She decides to tell her late mother's best friend, Gloria Jean, a strong mother figure in her life, her dreams and plans. Gloria Jean tells her that dreams just don't happen, you have to go after them. She then discusses the money situation with Catherine Grace and gives her the idea of making jam since Catherine Grace's grandfather planted strawberries that could last a lifetime. Gloria Jean takes Catherine Grace to buy the ingredients to make the jam. The girls are excited with the idea and go to pick strawberries. Gloria Jean then shows them how jam is made. After the jam is put into the mason jars that Gloria Jean bought, Catherine Grace now has to sell the jam. The town's gift shop, after being pressured, agrees to accept the jars and puts them up for sale. The jam is selling well and Catherine Grace is saving every penny and hiding it in a shoebox preparing for her dream to be realized. On her sixteenth birthday her father gives her a set of luggage. Catherine Grace is convinced that happiness is awaiting her in Atlanta. She has her money saved up and she makes her plans to leave. Her father has arranged for her to be picked up by a cousin. She can stay at her cousin's apartment until the end of the month. In the meantime, she looks up a friend of Gloria Jean, a sweet, elderly lady, Miss Myrtie Mabie. After meeting with Catherine Grace she decides to lease her a room in her home and Catherine Grace accepts it. She applies for a job and in the application writes that she was in the business of making jam. She receives a job interview and the employer is so impressed, figures she is a go-getter and hires her. After working there and doing a good job, she is told that the store executives would consider her for a management training program. In the meantime, she is corresponding with her sister and her sister is giving her all the latest news. In one of the letters she is told that her father is very sad and misses her dearly. Then she receives a telegram from her sister with bad news and she has to return home immediately. She tells Miss Mabie and Flora, the black maid, the news and Miss mabie. with Flora driving, accompany Catherine Grace home. Catherine Grace tells her sister "you can run away from a town but you can't run away from your home." This is Susan Gregg Gilmore"s debut book and one heck of a good read. The story is very entertaining and full of surprises. The book reminds me of the writings of Fannie Flagg. Both stories are about small town folks in the south and their lives. The main characters are strong, independent and lovable women who immediately draw you in and hold your interest until the end. If you liked this book, I suggest you read Can't Wait to Get to Heaven. I'm sure you will like it too.

very good book, very good story , I highly recommend

A small town in Georgia in the 1970s. All her life, Catherine has been waiting to get out, dreaming about her 18th birthday when she will move to Atlanta.The book tells the story of how Catherine grows up: the preacher's daughter, her mother dead, in a town where everybody knows everybody else's business and has an opinion on it. The novel sets out a little slowly, depicting Catherine's life in perhaps a little too much detail (although some might enjoy the atmosphere thus created). There are some truly surprising twists and turns and events which reveal the true nature of the characters and Catherine has to learn to deal with the dark sides of the people around her.A novel about loving and lying, and loving in spite of lying, with some adorable characters.A good read, with good use of language. Towards the end, the novel picks up pace, and is rather surprising.

Set in small town rural America, the leading character is Catherine Grace Cline, her sister Martha Ann. and their father who is the local pastor, deeply loved and honoured by his flock. The story is full of wonderful homely characters, the main one being Gloria Jean who helps to take Catherine's mother's place after she is orphaned. The Dairy Queen is where Catherine goes to eat ice cream and dream about getting out of Cedar Grove into the big city to make something of herself. As the story unfolds and time goes by secrets and lies about the Pastor's family come out and completely turn around everything that Catherine Grace believes and has been told. After tragedy, she finally comes to realise that everything that means happiness is found back home.

great book, if you like where the heart is or made in the usa, this author is for you