Praying for Sheetrock

Praying for Sheetrock is a book of literary nonfiction by writer Melissa Fay Greene. The book was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1991. A group of experts convened by New York University’s journalism department also included the book on its list of the best journalism of the 20th century. The book’s author, Greene, is a native of Georgia. She has published six nonfiction books and has written for many publications, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. This study guide refers to the edition of the book published in 1991 by the Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.

The book opens in June 1971 with a collision between two trucks on Highway 17, which cuts through the town of Darien in McIntosh County, Georgia. The white sheriff of McIntosh County, Tom Poppell, presides over the accident. Several black residents who live nearby come to pilfer brand-new shoes that have fallen from the trucks. Poppell condones this form of highway theft. In this opening scene, it’s clear how the sheriff operates outside the law and offers small favors in exchange for the black residents’ compliance with his authoritarian rule over McIntosh County, which acquires a reputation for lawlessness.