This latest addition to the Dean Hughes line-up is set during the Great Depression. Leah Sorensen is in her forties and has been struggling for years to run her farm and raise her two children on her own, her husband having been killed in a freak accident years before. She has no choice but to work day and night to keep the farm going, with the knowledge that it’s her only chance to keep herself and her family fed.
The Depression has hit everyone hard, but especially the farmers. Add to that the drought that nearly crippled the nation at the same time, and Leah is fighting a constant uphill battle. She and her children wear ragged clothing, unable to afford anything better, and she feels that the town people snub her for it. She doesn’t regularly come to church because of the treatment she’s received, and she deeply resents the way her children are treated at school. She hides out on her farm, buried in work, and rarely interacts with the outside world.
But one day her bishop drives out to the farm to see her, and shocks her with the reason for his call. He wants her to serve as the Relief Society president in the ward. With her skills and determination, he’s sure she’s the one to help the women through their own rough times, but Leah is sure he’s wrong. She’s nothing like the sweet church lady she’s always associated with the call of Relief Society president, and she can’t picture herself doing a good job. But she’s prompted to accept, and so she does, unwillingly.
She makes a huge mess of things with her abrupt ways and her prejudice, but soon she learns that the town people are suffering as well and it’s not just the farmers who are struggling to survive. As she reaches out to serve the sisters, she finds in her heart the forgiveness she needs to truly love them, and little by little, her prickles are worn off and she is able to freely serve.
I greatly enjoyed this novel and recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a good read.
(This book was published in 2007 by Deseret Book.)
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