Vicki Covington is one of my favorite writers and this is perhaps her best work to date. I know it is my favorite. Set in modern day Alabama, this is a wonderfully written story of simple people with normal problems. If you have ever read anything by Vicki, you will know that she treats all of her characters and her readers with respect. Her characters seem so real, her tales are so intriguing, but above all, she never resorts to overt vulgarity like some writers who think it is neccessary to shock their reader to keep their attention. Vicki has taste, talent, imagination, and has honed her writing skill to perfection.

Vicki Covington has written a very good novel about the civil rights struggle in Alabama, that is not nearly as good as two of her previous novels, Gathering Home and Night Ride Home.The family characters,as well as a freedom rider,and especailly, the character of the journalist are all compelling. The problem is that Bull Conner, a well researched historical figure reads more like a well researched historical figure than like a believable character. Still, this is a quibble, because Vicki Covington is our greatest living Southern novelist,so we come to expect more from her than from others. I recommend that you buy this book, but also buy the two previously mentioned superior novels, especially Night Ride Home, which is as good as a contemporary novel gets

it was about teens in the SOUTH. In the story, Keller matures a lot because he deals with sex, marraige, and death. I think this book is great, but SOUTHENERS will appreciate it more, not Yankees.. HAHA!!

I've read all of Vicki Covington's novels and think she is a great writer. My book club really enjoyed BIRD OF PARADISE. And Dennis's book about snake-handling churches was fascinating so I read this story of a marriage hoping to find kindred people. I admire honesty but I was very disturbed by this couple and their obessions. I'm not a prude and I've always been a Christian( even though some youthful love affairs) but I don't understand raising two daughters and continuing in the way the Covingtons have. I also don't understand having an abortion because you can't tell who the father of the fetus is. Again I believe that abortion is very necessary but not for the reason Vicki gave. "What kind of marriage do you have?" was the question the wife of Vicki's lover asked and it's a valid question. We all have our definitions of marriage and we all lead lives that call for forgiveness but we're also called to repentance. I didn't see much of that in CLEAVING. Sometimes the honesty is too much.

I'm Vicki and Dennis Covington's daughter. I think that "Cleaving" is a truthful, beautifully written book. My parents had incredible courage to write this book and I'm very proud of them.

Few readers are likely to come away from CLEAVING unmoved--some to anger (as initial public reaction in the authors' hometown of Birmingham, Ala., demonstrates), others to hope, sadness, spiritual reflection, an abiding sense of shared experience with two erstwhile strangers...or, all of the above.

Dennis and Vicki Covington, both successful writers/teachers with 7 previous volumes between them--one a finalist for the National Book Award--were originally commissioned by a publisher to jointly write an inspirational book about the ups and downs of marriage and the importance of the spiritual dimension in that struggle. Its title was to be LIVING WATER, a metaphor based on their church mission work in South America, helping to drill wells for underprivileged communities.

With the book deadline looming nearer and nearer, there was only one problem: their outwardly "model" suburban marriage was in serious disarray, and they found that they couldn't, in good conscience, create a work of spiritual platitudes with themselves as examples. Instead, they did what many people would have found unthinkable: they told the truth.

The result is a powerfully honest, blunt, and yet graceful memoir...writing that is disturbing, fascinating, incandescent in its unadorned style, and ultimately redemptive.

For decades, gifted authors such as John Cheever, John Updike, and Richard Yates have written unforgettable fiction about American marriages. CLEAVING is a worthy addition to that list. It's also true, in every sense of the word.