The Time To Run : Clover Fork Press : 9780692877104 : 069287710X : 10 Aug 2017 : Abe Siler's mother, Maude, is a religious fanatic who will stop at nothing-including breaking up her son's marriage and separating their six children-to save him, body and soul, from the devil's pit of an underground coal mine. The near collapse of Kentucky's underground coal-mining industry in the 1950s parallels the near collapse of Abe's family when he, a miner since childhood and now a celebrated foreman, is pressured into deserting his sinking ship in favor of a safer, cleaner life as a tobacco farmer. Lily, Abe's wife, struggles to keep love alive and the family together under the stress of Abe's failure as a farmer, his inability to find work, and the dark family secrets that breed distrust and even betrayal. This gripping novel reveals the human spirit at its best...and worst.