Book Blurb:
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 childless midwife and the motherless teen grows strong. But soon Songbird is forced to make a heartbreaking decision that will tear this little family apart.
Thirty years later, the day after his father’s funeral, Walker Wylie is stunned to learn he was adopted as an infant. The famous country singer enlists the help of adoption advocate Reese Chandler in the hopes of learning why he was abandoned by his birth parents. With the only clue he has in hand, Walker and Reese head deep into the Appalachian Mountains to track down Bertie Jenkins, the midwife who holds the secrets to Walker’s past.
My Review:
I can’t help it. I really enjoy dual timeline novels. The storyline of this novel starts in Appalachia during the 30s with five sisters, one of whom, Birdie, is a midwife.
The Jenkins sisters have a small farm in the mountains that manage to eke out just enough to sustain them through the worst. It is late one night when they are alerted about something or someone in the woods and upon investigating discover a young girl, pregnant and with a gunshot wound. They manage to save both she and her baby.
About thirty years later, the death of Walker Wylie’s father sets off a journey he never imagined. His mother divulges he was adopted and they knew very little of the circumstances of his birth.
Not a new or unique plot but the location of the southern mountains and the earlier time places you square in the cabin with the sisters as they nurse Songbird back to health and then the birth of her baby.
Wylie enlists the help of another midwife to find his birth parents. Wylie is apparently very well off having a successful singing career, but takes the time to see the journey of discovery through.
The characters are well drawn, although I was not able to engage with Wylie as much as the sisters. He does mellow out somewhat by the conclusion. There are themes of unwed teen pregnancy, Christian values, family (without the familial connection), and sacrifice.
The pace slows somewhat with the backstory of Wylie, but everything comes together beautifully, if not unexpectedly. A sweet story of adoption and love.
I received a digital copy of this book from my local library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.
Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Religious Historical Fiction
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
ASIN: B0BX14RV95
Print Length: 339 pages
Publication Date: October 3, 2023
Source: Local Library
Title Link(s):
Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
The Author: Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS, winner of the 2023 Christianity Today Book Award in Fiction, and UNDER THE TULIP TREE, a Christy Award and Selah Award finalist. As a woman of mixed heritage–her father’s family is Hispanic and her mother’s roots go back to Germany–she has always celebrated diversity and feels it’s important to see the world through the eyes of one another. Learning from the past and changing the future is why she writes historical fiction.
With both her sons grown, Michelle and her husband make their home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about.
Michelle loves hearing from readers! Connect with her at http://www.MichelleShocklee.com
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