It was 1935, the sixth year of the Great Depression. Most of the population was living on faith, hope, and denial. Still, it was not a bad year to be sixteen—if you were white, middle-class, Protestant, and lucky enough to be living in Atlanta. Like a Tree is the story of the Krueger family and how they coped and conquered through the spirit-breaking years of the nineteen-thirties. In a larger context, Like a Tree is about the South's white liberal minority that worked quietly and largely underground, fighting prejudice, segregation, and ignorance to emancipate future generations. Early reviewers have called this book "touching," "absorbing," "powerful, "important," "original," "richly textured." It is a testament to perseverance, love, goodwill, and the fortitude of ordinary human beings.