With the Devil's Help

A True Story of Poverty, Mental Illness, and Murder

By: Neal Wooten

Narrated by: Traber Burns

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

2022 Audible’s Best in True Crime

In the tradition of The Glass Castle, Educated, and Heartland, Neal Wooten traces five decades of his dirt-poor, Alabama mountain family as the years and secrets coalesce.

Neal Wooten grew up in a tiny community atop Sand Mountain, Alabama, where everyone was white and everyone was poor. Prohibition was still embraced. If you wanted alcohol, you had to drive to Georgia or ask the bootlegger sitting next to you in church. Tent revivals, snake handlers, and sacred harp music were the norm, and everyone was welcome as long as you weren’t Black, brown, gay, atheist, Muslim, a damn Yankee, or a Tennessee Vol fan.

The Wooten’s lived a secret existence in a shack in the woods with no running water, no insulation, and almost no electricity. Even the school bus and mail carrier wouldn’t go there. Neal’s family could hide where they were, but not what they were. They were poor white trash. Cops could see it. Teachers could see it. Everyone could see it.

Growing up, Neal was weaned on folklore legends of his grandfather—his quick wit, quick feet, and quick temper. He discovers how this volatile disposition led to a murder, a conviction, and ultimately to a daring prison escape and a closely guarded family secret.

Being followed by a black car with men in black suits was as normal to Neal as using an outhouse, carrying drinking water from a stream, and doing homework by the light of a kerosene lamp. And Neal’s father, having inherited the very same traits of his father, made sure the frigid mountain winters weren’t the most brutal thing his family faced.

Told from two perspectives, this story alternates between Neal’s life and his grandfather’s, culminating in a shocking revelation. Take a journey to the Deep South and learn what it’s like to be born on the wrong side of the tracks, the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of a violent mental illness.

©2022 Neal Wooten (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Great story

Being from the south, I could relate to the story. It took me back to my own childhood

Wow, very good!

Loved this book for all the reasons the writer points out in his epilogue. I also came from a city dwelling similar family facing many of the same challenges and social stigmas, and I made my way free to success in my life. Luckily, the mental illness did not get genetically transferred to myself.
Congratulations Sir, you made it and are wiser and more empathetic than those who come from “perfect” homes…if they exist. 😊

Amazing Story

I loved this book. It was wonderfully read and is an amazing story and perfectly performed.

Heartfelt story of life

So much of the story sounds like life as we imagined it in the early 1900s. It's amazing to listen to the story and realize much of this was happening in the latter half of the 20th century. Neal shared his story in a way that touched the heart. It made you uncomfortable, and it made you smile....maybe not at the same time but throughout the story he was able to pull this off. I enjoyed this book greatly and would definitely recommend anyone give it a read.

Great storytelling!!

Loved this book, was like listening to your grandparent telling you about the past with all the twists and turns of real life and poverty. A story about hard times and how we live through them.

Riveting

I very much enjoyed this from start to finish even though it was very frustrating to listen to sometimes. Not because of the writing or performance but because of the situations described. You want to grab the people and say “you don’t have to live like this! There’s a whole world out there where men don’t pulverize their wives and children! Leave!” I will be seeking out more of his books and recommend this one whole heartedly.

Great book!

Never have I ever heard a story better than this! Thank you for sharing. The ending was the best ever…… couldn’t figure out who, when or why, until the end! ❤️

Excellent story of overcoming poverty and abuse

The writer paints a good picture, took me back to so much of my own childhood

A must read for sure

Captivating story about life, love and family in rural North Alabama.
I love it!!

Great read.

Very good details to bring me right there in the room with you. A lot of the saying, I also heard as a kid.