By Staff
I would like very much to comment on the releases books that have been written about Brewton and the surrounding area and namely Ms. Annie Eugene Windham Barnes. The books I speak of are Suzanne Hudson's “In a Temple of Trees” and the newest, Joe Formichella's “Murder Creek: The Unfortunate Incident That Befell Annie Jean Barnes”.
Although Ms. Hudson claims her book to be fiction, she used an actual event which was highly publicized and everyone in this area automatically knew who the book was written about. The woman portrayed in the book was nowhere near the character of that of Annie Jean Barnes and I have been very disturbed by her writing. But that wasn't enough; Mr. Formichella just had to write what he considers to be a factual account.
If Mr. Formichella can not keep his facts about the children of Ms. Barnes straight, how can I believe anything else he writes in this book? I have found numerous misquotes and errors in his book, especially about the children. I also find it very disturbing that many of our family members are talked about in the book that did not give permission for their names to be used in the book. My sister, being one, who has never spoken with Mr. Formichella. I would also like to know when she lived in Mobile