-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
In the Prohibition era Missouri Ozarks, three sisters take over their father's moonshine business in an evocative story of reinvention, sisterhood, and the alchemy of love for readers of Jeannette Walls, Fannie Flagg, Sue Monk Kidd, and Donna Everhart.
Every batch of Strong moonshine has its own special flavor, thanks to the secret ingredients that matriarch Lidy Strong adds to the barrels of fermenting corn mash. Whether a bucketful of golden peaches, a ripe melon or juicy, jewel-toned berries, that extra "something something" is what makes the Strong "shine" so prized—and allows the family to survive after crop prices plummeted in the wake of the Great War.
Each of the Strong sisters, too, is distinct. Stoic, steadfast Rebecca would rather be with her beloved farm animals or off hunting in the woods than socializing. Middle sister Elsie is kindhearted, beautiful—and itching for a life more thrilling than the farm can offer. Jace, the youngest, is known far and wide as "Shine," a name that suits her fiery personality and flaming red hair as much as her innate skill with a still.
Their father, Hiram, has been drowning himself in grief and liquor ever since his wife died. But the moonshine business is unforgiving, especially with Prohibition agents turning up in every creek and holler. When tragedy strikes, it falls to the Strong women to keep the still running, the family together, and hope burning on the horizon.
From the Ozark mountains edged in oak and pine, to the outlaw paradise of Hot Springs, Arkansas—where gangsters like Al Capone line the bar at the Southern Club—the sisters' quests for vengeance, healing, and love will drive them forward, in search of a future as transformative and powerful as the purest Strong moonshine.
Jed longs to be a part of the Strong family and the moonshine business. When he finally gets the chance, how does he handle it? Do you feel sorry for him? Are his feelings of being used and discarded valid? Are the women better off without him?
I think Jed was a hedonist. He wanted to be part of the strongs for access to the moonshine. He wanted none of the work for the business or fatherhoood
-Renee_P
Elsie craves a "happily ever after." How does this impact her choices about motherhood and marriage? Eventually she comes to understand that she is stronger than she knew. Do you agree that sometimes we just need to "rescue [our] own damn self"?
I agree that sometimes we just need to "rescue [our] own damn self". When all is said and done, we are responsible for our own decisions and actions. Elsie's fairy tale vision of her life as it was supposed to be, would have been a horrific mistake were it to come true. She would eventually end u...
-Janet_R
There are many motherless daughters in The Moonshine Women. How do the women mother each other? How do sisterhood and female friendship become even more important when our mother figures are unavailable or gone?
The women "mother" each other by their compassion towards each other and their love for one another. When our own mothers are unavailable or gone, we do seek solace in friendships with other women. We create a strong bond with our friends by our availability to them, our ability to listen and con...
-Janet_R
Hiram calls Shine his "daughter of the spirit." What does he mean? How does Hiram's love and acceptance play a part in Shine's later decision to form and embrace her own unconventional family bonds? In the end, who do you think is the "strongest Strong?"?
Hiram knew in his heart and mind that Shine was not his biological child, however, he forms a special bond with her that lasts the rest of his lifetime. She is the glue that sticks this family together. The glue was made from the love that Hiram and Shine had for each other. For all his faults an...
-Janet_R
Hiram worships the memory of his dead wife Alta and grieves her; a put-upon Lidy resents her. Rebecca and Elsie crave her softness and stories, while Shine has no memories of her at all. How do you feel about this complicated voiceless character?
That's an important detail that does indeed suggest the author is telling the reader than Alta wanted to end her pregnancy but not her life. If Alta had lived and likely with a severe brain injury, the story would have been different. Thanks for mentioning the hidden rock.
-NanK
Of Lidy, Elsie says, "Right or wrong, but never indifferent. She was a Strong through and through." Did you agree with the steely matriarch's decisions to do what she thought best—whether keeping a painful secret or ending a life prematurely?'
I found Lidy to be a little bit scary. I am wary of people who are so sure they are right. However, I don't think the family could have survived without her.
-Leslie_R
Overall, what did you think of The Moonshine Women? For what audience would you recommend the book? (no spoilers in this topic, please!)
Well-researched, well-written–a thoroughly satisfying read.
-Leslie_R
Making moonshine requires careful identification of the different parts of the distillate. Shine becomes an expert at this at an early age, but is far less adept at handling matters of her own heart. Are you glad she gets a second chance with John?
Shine had an image of herself, strongly reinforced by Hiram, and I think it kept her from ever examining her true feelings. Somehow I never doubted that she would get a second chance with John.
-Leslie_R
Have you read Michelle Collins Anderson’s first novel, The Flower Sisters? If so, how do the two books compare?
I did read the Flower Sisters and really enjoyed it, but as someone said, it wa s a very different book. It was a good story, too, but more philosophical. I keep a collection of book quotes that have spoken to me; this one is from the Flower Sisters: "Life can and will go on without me. Painful a...
-Leslie_R
Lidy Strong knows what people in the Ozark hills call "granny cures." Which one did you find the most interesting or surprising? Can you share one from your own culture or upbringing?
I never heard them called "granny cures" before this, but my mom had several of them from growing up with limited money and resources. But my favorite was from a childhood friend whose mom had a special homemade cough syrup that would help with sleep and reducing coughs. It was only years later t...
-Dee_Driscole
Two crashes happen almost simultaneously: Jed and Rebecca's car accident & the stock market crash. How does the aftermath of the wreck affect the Strong family? How does it mirror what happens to their community and the country at large?
I can relate to this now. There's a new normal emerging as aging life is happening to us now.
-NanK
Both Hiram and his abusive father were alcoholics; Jed's drinking dramatically changes his personality for the worse. Yet it becomes their livelihood. How do they deal with this contradiction? What do you suppose none of the Strong daughters drink?
I have seen the difficulties from alcohol in my own family, which in turn has made me very careful so that I don't drink alcohol. I have no problem serving it to others and keeping it around the house. But this is not true for so many, it really is a disease that not only hurts the person drinkin...
-Dee_Driscole
In the prologue, the premature baby is supposed be a boy. When a disappointed Hiram Strong holds his third daughter in his hands instead, he names her "Jace," which means "the Lord is salvation" and declares that she will save the family. Does she?
Yes, she is literally the light of hope and ideas that "shines" the way forward. The name is perfect.
-Dee_Driscole
How does Rebecca's reluctance to speak up about Jed cause trouble? And later, with Eulalie? Discuss some of the complicating factors in her romantic relationship. What finally pushes her to risk giving voice to her own wants and desires?
I was happy that Rebecca found her self and could have a life with Eulalie. I was surprised this was accepted by her family, especially because it was interracial. But sometimes, I am just happy that a family recognizes love is love. I am not sure that if Rebecca had spoken about Jed others would...
-Dee_Driscole
Lidy believes "the lot of women isn't right"—specifically that undesired pregnancies disproportionately affects females. This situation plays out repeatedly over the course of the novel. Do you agree? Or is hers a sentiment and symptom of the era?
I think this sentiment was a sign of the times. Women, years ago, had pregnancies and many of them. They suffered health wise and often died. Today, it is different for the most part women have choices either with birth control or medically induced abortions. Women don't have to be martyrs and ha...
-Ann_H
Shine is both starry-eyed and fearful of her first famous customer at the bar, Al Capone. She believes they are both "willing to do whatever it took to survive and keep their families safe." Do you agree? Does Shine discover a line she won't cross?
I am not sure Shine is the same as Al Capone. Shine had to make some decisions that was necessary for her family's survival. I think Capone made decisions based on acquiring wealth and importance. Shine became a bartender but "drew the line when it came to prostitution. She worked in the unsavory...
-Ann_H
Shine is bent on revenge but is continually thwarted. But when she finally has a chance to exact some justice she balks. Later, she muses that mercy & forgiveness are more complicated. How does this shift allow her to move forward?
A focus on revenge, certainly hurts the person emotionally as well as physically. Shine's moving on from this focus allowed her to have happy, productive life.
-Ann_H
John Flanagan is an idealist whose experiences reflect the arc of Prohibition. How does this "rule follower" fare with a rogue partner, mountain moonshiners and criminals? What finally jolts him out of his passivity to pursue what he really wants?
I think John really didn't do well with his role as a person to punish moonshiners. His rogue partner was an embarrassment to him. Even though, John didn't agree with McConnell, he showed the man compassion by making sure that McConnell was well taken care of after his retirement. I think John ha...
-Ann_H
The "cow shoes" that Shine wore to cover her tracks were just one creative way that moonshiners and bootleggers kept their operations clandestine during Prohibition. Have you heard of others that you found particularly clever?
Not really; however, I love the creative "cow shoes". The author did a good job describing them so that this reader can actually visualize the shoes.
-Ann_H
Shine decides to "make a family like she and her daddy had made moonshine, putting together a bunch of unlikely ingredients, things that didn't come from the same place...Stir it all up and see what happened." What do you think of this metaphor?
I love the metaphor. Doesn't it reflect our lives today. We experience change on many levels. How we handle that change is important. If "you roll with the punches" in a positive way, I say you are mentally healthy.
-Ann_H
BookBrowsers ask Michelle Collins Anderson, author of The Moonshine Women
Thanks so much for being here, Michelle! You've been a very gracious guest. Sincerely looking forward to your next novel, and I wish you the very best of luck.
-kim.kovacs
Michelle Collins Anderson is available to take your questions!
Michelle Collins Anderson will be dropping into the community forum from time to time through Thursday, 4/16, to answer your questions. Stop by & say hi, and feel free to ask her about her novels , The Flower Sisters and The Moonshine Women .
-kim.kovacs
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (4/09/2026)
I finished "The Moonshine Women" by Michelle Collins Anderson and have just started Elizabeth Berg's latest, "Life: a Love Story".
-Carol_Ann_Robb
Michelle Collins Anderson, author of The Flower Sisters and The Moonshine Women, will be visiting!
Michelle Collins Anderson will be taking questions from the BookBrowse community from April 14-16, stopping in at least once a day during that period. The discussion will open here around midnight April 14 (EDT) and close for additional comments after April 16. The Q & A will remain online perman...
-kim.kovacs
Ask the Author mug winners
Congrats to @Gary_R , our latest BookBrowse mug winner! He was chosen at random from the members who very kindly stopped by the Q & A area to ask our visiting author, Annelise Ryan, questions about her work. Thank you very much to all who participated, it's very much appreciated. If you didn't ge...
-kim.kovacs
About the The Moonshine Women by Michelle Collins Anderson category
Please join BookBrowse for a discussion of https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/21196/the-moonshine-women The Moonshine Women by Michelle Collins Anderson.
-system
Media reviews not yet available.
This information about The Moonshine Women was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Michelle Collins Anderson grew up on a farm in the Missouri Ozarks — a place and a way of life that has shaped her writing. A graduate of the University of Missouri with a MFA from Warren Wilson College, she previously worked in advertising and public relations, taught elementary school creative writing, and was an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri and Stephens College. She serves on the board of The Missouri Review and her short fiction has appeared in Nimrod International Journal, Literal Latté, Midwestern Gothic, Elder Mountain: A Journal of Ozarks Studies, Bosque, The Lascaux Review, Pooled Ink, Storied Hills: An Anthology of Contemporary Ozark Fiction, and other publications. A mother of three, she lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
Author Interview
Link to Michelle Collins Anderson's Website
If you liked The Moonshine Women, try these:
by Melanie Benjamin
Published 2024
Two sisters navigate the thrilling, euphoric early days of California surf culture in this dazzling saga of ambition, sacrifice, and the tangled ties between mothers and daughters.
by Rachel Eliza. Griffiths
Published 2024
Two Black sisters growing up in small-town New England fight to protect their home, their bodies, and their dreams as the Civil Rights Movement sweeps the nation in this "magical, magnificent novel" (Marlon James) from "a startlingly fresh voice" (Jacqueline Woodson).
by Michelle Collins. Anderson
Published 2024
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention for readers of Kristy Woodson Harvey, Donna Everhart, Sue Monk Kidd, Jeannette Walls, and Rita Mae Brown…
I have lost all sense of home, having moved about so much. It means to me now only that place where the books are ...
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
