C.E. Morgan's first novel, All the Living, told in luminous prose, is the story of Aloma, a mission school girl, who falls for Orren, a tobacco farmer who is still greiving the loss of his family in a car crash. They live a hard scrabble life with Orren retreating further into himself through work and Aloma regretting her decision to desert her dreams of becoming a pianist. When Aloma gets a job playing piano at a nearby church, she develops a deep friendship with the preacher which confuses her intentions even more. Morgan grapples with some elemental questions: the power of work to instill love and the meaning of the "real world" Aloma longs for in what looks like isolation.