Home to Holly Springs #10 - eBook

Jan wrote her first novel at the age of ten. "The manuscript was written on Blue Horse notebook paper, and was, for good reason, kept hidden from my sister. When she found it, she discovered the one curse word I had, with pounding heart, included in someone's speech. For Pete's sake, hadn't Rhett Butler used that very same word and gotten away with it? After my grandmother's exceedingly focused reproof, I've written books without cussin' ever since."

Several years ago, Karon left a successful career in advertising to move to the mountain village of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and write books. "I stepped out on faith to follow my lifelong dream of being an author," she says. "I made real sacrifices and took big risks. But living, it seems to me, is largely about risk."

Enthusiastic booksellers across the country have introduced readers of all ages to Karon's heartwarming books. At Home in Mitford, Karon's first book in the Mitford series, was nominated for an ABBY by the American Booksellers Association in 1996 and again in 1997. Bookstore owner, Shirley Sprinkle, says, "The Mitford Books have been our all-time fiction bestsellers since we went in business twenty-five years ago. We've sold 10,000 of Jan's books and don't see any end to the Mitford phenomenon."

Home to Holly Springs is author Jan Karon’s latest installment in the Mitford series. Holly Springs, Mississippi, is where Timothy Andrew Kavanaugh was born and raised. There were good memories associated with his childhood, especially those surrounding his mother, maternal grandparents, and friends. But the shadows, the unexplained behaviors of his father were so haunting that once his parents died, Timothy never returned.

Until now. The simple plea was the beginning of a fantastic journey, both physically and spiritually for Father Tim. Returning to Holly Springs, he pieces together the bits of memory with reality, and encounters old acquaintances, new friends, and precious loved ones. Along the way he finds understanding, forgiveness, grace, and love from sources he never imagined. Father Tim’s courageous journey proves that secrets lose their power when they are no longer secrets and in God’s miraculous economy, nothing is wasted. “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose,” (Romans 8:28).

Emotionally intricate, Father Tim’s adventure brings the reader face-to-face with cruelty and bigotry, deep emotional pain that results in mental imbalance, the affects of behavior on future generations, and the unfathomable power of forgiveness and love.

Already a fan of Jan Karon and the Mitford series, I was eager to take this story with me on my own trip to South Carolina and Georgia. The richness of the dialogue, the believable characters, history, and human spirit woven into Home to Holly Springs still takes my breath away.

As an author of ten non-fiction titles, and now trying my hand at fiction, I appreciate how Karon’s gift as a storyteller shines in these pages, and her use of flashbacks is well penned. Of all of Karon’s excellent works, Home to Holly Springs is her best. For an added treat, listen to Home to Holly Springs as a recorded book. The reader’s talent with voices and accents brings an unparalleled depth to this well-written tale. – PeggySue Wells, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com