Country Ham

"Ham" MacPherson is a promising left-handed baseball pitcher at Wilkes Central High School whom the Atlanta Braves have told will be selected with the third pick of the 1976 MLB draft, complete with a generous signing bonus. Within a twenty-four hour period, however, Ham's world goes topsy-turvy. His relationships with his girlfriend, Nora, and best friend, JC, are turned upside down and inside out. A life-changing catastrophe transforms Ham and the way he views the world. Accidents and deaths soon follow. How will Ham deal with all the tumult in his life? The story ends where it began, in a hearse.

"Country Ham is all it promises--sweet and salty, a nostalgic return to the rural South of the 1970s. But it is more: rich humor, good storytelling, and a dash of religion, well salted. Ham is a sagacious guide to surviving a dysfunctional family and life-changing tragedy."
--R. Alan Culpepper, Dean and Professor Emeritus, McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University

"As engrossing as To Kill a Mockingbird and as atmospheric as Of Mice and Men, this beautifully written novel recounts an engaging story whose characters take on a life of their own, while embedding themselves in ours."
--Bruce W. Longenecker, W.W. Melton Chair of Religion, Baylor University

"In Country Ham, MacPherson and Parsons have penned a story of tragedy, and out of the rubble of insufferable loss shine love of family, joy of friends, beauty of faith, and a goodness that follows us all the days of our lives. Beautifully written, seen most clearly through the blur of tears of loss and laughter!"
--Ronald B. Poythress, pastor, Triangle Baptist Church, Raleigh, North Carolina

"This novel is fun and funny, sober and sobering in all the right places. The authors capture the wondrous/frustrating incongruity of Southern, specifically North Carolina, culture, deep in the grass roots."
--Bill J. Leonard, Dunn Professor of Baptist Studies and Church History, Wake Forest University

"Country Ham is an intriguing portrayal of life's choices with which we are all presented, even during those wonderful teenage years when we know it all but still can't get it right."
--Al Josephs, Senior Director, Compliance, Tenet Healthcare

"This unique coming-of-age story exposes, and expounds upon, some of the most significant issues facing 1970s America--racism, religion, and sexuality--through the lens of America's favorite pastime. A heartfelt, hopeful, and tragically beautiful story."
--Lindsey M. Trozzo, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Campbell University


John Quincy MacPherson is a trauma surgeon at Wake Forest School of Medicine. He is a graduate of UNC-CH and Emory. This is his first book.

Mikeal C. Parsons is Professor and Macon Chair in Religion at Baylor University, where he has taught for over thirty years. He specializes in New Testament studies and has published numerous articles and authored, co-authored, or co-edited over two dozen books.