On a Street Called Easy, in a Cottage Called Joye

When Gregory White Smith and Steven Naifeh first beheld Joye Cottage, a pleasure palace once owned by robber-baron William C. Whitney in Aiken, South Carolina, it was love at first sight. Behind the pristine facade, with its airy veranda, they discovered a "handyman special from hell." Undaunted, they bought it--and began the renovation project chronicled with love, humor, and enthusiasm in "On a Street Called Easy, In a Cottage Called Joye, capturing both the easy, down-home rhythms of life in Aiken and the mind-boggling, soul-testing challenges of dealing with falling plaster, collapsing floors, menacing subcontractors, eccentric local characters, and other surprises.