In the hills of Tennessee, two women work at a Manhattan Project site during World War II and uncover truths that irrevocably change their lives in this captivating new story from award-winning Southern fiction author Michelle Shocklee.1944. Maebelle Willett arrives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, eager to begin her new government job and send money home to her impoverished family. She knows little about the work she will be doing, but she's told it will ...

A story waits to be told. When a young woman in Tennessee begins to write it down, what she discovers will change her forever.Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland's dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena's banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writi...

Christy Award Winner for Historical Fiction and Book of the Year!She was so sure she knew her family's story . . . Now she wonders if she was wrong about all of it.1969. When Mattie Taylor's twin brother was killed in Vietnam, she lost her best friend and the only person who really understood her. Now, news that her mother is dying sends Mattie back home, despite blaming her father for Mark's death. Mama's last wish is that...

Forever within the memories of my heart.Always remember, you are perfectly loved.Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she's tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943. As Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture S...

She was so sure she knew her family’s story . . . Now she wonders if she was wrong about all of it.1969. When Mattie Taylor’s twin brother was killed in Vietnam, she lost her best friend and the only person who really understood her. Now, news that her mother is dying sends Mattie back home, despite blaming her father for Mark’s death. Mama’s last wish is that Mattie would read some old letters stored in a trunk, from people Mattie doesn’t even kno...

A Christianity Today Book of the Year Award-winner!Count your nights by stars, not shadows. Count your life with smiles, not tears.1961. After a longtime resident at Nashville's historic Maxwell House Hotel suffers a debilitating stroke, Audrey Whitfield is tasked with cleaning out the reclusive woman's room. There, she discovers an elaborate scrapbook filled with memorabilia from the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Love notes on the backs...

Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland’s dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena’s banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job, Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers’ Project. There, she meets Frankie Washington, a 101-year-old woman ...

In the hills of Tennessee, two women work at a Manhattan Project site during World War II and uncover truths that irrevocably change their lives in this captivating new story from award-winning Southern fiction author Michelle Shocklee.1944. Maebelle Willett arrives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, eager to begin her new government job and send money home to her impoverished family. She knows little about the work she will be doing, but she’s told it will ...

Forever within the memories of my heart.Always remember, you are perfectly loved.Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she’s tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943. As Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture Songbird back to health, the bond between the childle...

WINNER!!! Christianity Today Award 2023 (print)!!!Count your nights by stars, not shadows. Count your life with smiles, not tears.1961. After a longtime resident at Nashville’s historic Maxwell House Hotel suffers a debilitating stroke, Audrey Whitfield is tasked with cleaning out the reclusive woman’s room. There, she discovers an elaborate scrapbook filled with memorabilia from the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Love not...

Nashville, 1961: Als Audrey Whitfield das Zimmer einer langjährigen Bewohnerin des berühmten Maxwell House Hotels ausräumt, stößt sie auf ein Album mit Erinnerungsstücken an die Weltausstellung in Nashville vor über sechzig Jahren. Nie verschickte Postkarten mit Liebesbotschaften lassen sie an eine verbotene Romanze denken. Doch was hat es mit den Hinweisen auf das unerklärliche Verschwinden junger Frauen während der Ausstellung auf sich? Gemeinsam mit einem charmanten Hotelgast begibt sie...

Tennessee, 1969: Seit dem Tod ihres Zwillingsbruders Mark ist Mattie Taylor auf der Flucht – vor ihrem Zuhause, ihrer Familie und dem Schmerz, der sie nicht loslässt. Doch als sie erfährt, dass ihre Mutter im Sterben liegt, kehrt sie widerstrebend nach Hause zurück. Dort erwartet sie nicht nur eine angespannte Atmosphäre, sondern auch eine geheimnisvolle Truhe voller Briefe aus der Vergangenheit. Wer war Gunther Schneider und warum scheinen die alten Briefe Matties eigenes Leben auf den Ko...