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From Amazon:
While the century began with such promise, it is 1910 when Mira Dean's hopes of being a wife and mother are dashed to pieces. Her fiancé is dead from tuberculosis, and Mira resigns herself to being a spinster schoolteacher--until Gordon Covington shows up.
No longer the boy she knew from school, Gordon is now a preacher who is full of surprises. First, he asks Mira to come to Sourwood in eastern Kentucky to teach at his mission school. Second, he asks her to marry him, just like that. All at once, the doors that had seemed firmly shut began to open, just a crack.
With much trepidation, Mira steps out in faith into a life she never imagined, in a place filled with its own special challenges, to serve a people who will end up becoming the family she always dreamed of.
From the pen of bestselling author Ann H. Gabhart comes a heartwarming story of the unexpected blessings that can come when we dare to follow the Lord's leading.
My Take:
I have read many books by Ann H. Gabhart, but this one may be my favorite. The book starts with a thriller: Gordon proposes to Mira minutes after meeting her. Mira has a lot on her plate and wants to live a normal life, even though at every turn she is rejected. In defeat, Mira returns to Gordon to marry him. The mountain people of Sourwood know what it is like to have to accept a less than perfect life, and they welcome the preacher's with open arms. Mira, to her credit, steps into her role and tries to be a blessing wherever she is needed. This is the first in a series of books about Sourwood Mountain and I am eager to learn more about this community. What is Riley's secret? What happens to Selinda? Why did Miss Ophelia come out of retirement? I am eager to learn more.
About the Author:
Ann H. Gabhart caught the writing bug at the age of ten and has been writing ever since. An award winning author, she's published many books for both adults and young adults. Her books cover several genres from historical to small town family stories to cozy mysteries (mysteries published with author name A.H. Gabhart). Her ideas are sparked by events in Kentucky history and by experiences in her own family. Her first Shaker novel, The Outsider, was a finalist for the ECPA Christian Fiction Book of the Year. Love Comes Home won the Selah Book of the Year award, and These Healing Hills was the Faith, Hope & Love Readers' Choice Women's Fiction Book of the Year.
Ann lives on a Kentucky farm not far from where she was born. She and her husband have three children and nine grandchildren. Ann enjoys hiking on her farm with her grandkids and her dogs, Frankie and Marley. See more about her books at www.annhgabhart.com or join the conversation on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/anngabhart.
