"Time changes nothing, girl, but the size of your underwear...and hopefully your hairdo."

Minton Sparks unique brand of performance art has brought the rural South to life for the many fans who flock to her shows and relive them through her audio releases. Now, the Grammy-nominated artist has committed some of her most popular poems and stories to print. The thirty pieces collected here veer from heartbreak to hilarity and back again, as Sparks shares her memories of growing up in small-town Tennessee. This unusual family may not walk the straight and narrow, but they're guaranteed to walk straight into your heart and mind, and linger. Like an old-time preacher, Sparks draws her audience in with compelling storytelling while leaving them with something essential to ponder.

Desperate Ransom takes readers on a journey into the heart of an extraordinary family, demonstrating once again that Sparks is a ground-breaking artist--and a true American treasure.