What Momma Left Behind by Cindy K. Sproles

ABOUT THE BOOK

Worie Dressar is seventeen years old when influenza and dysentery ravage her Appalachian Mountain community in 1898, leaving behind a growing number of orphaned children with no way to care for themselves. Worie's mother has been secretly feeding a number of these little ones on Sourwood Mountain. But when she dies suddenly, Worie is left to figure out why and how she was caring for them.

Plagued with two good-for-nothing brothers--one greedy and the other a drunkard--Worie fights to save her home and the orphaned children now in her begrudging care. Along the way, she will discover the beauty of unconditional love and the power of forgiveness as she cares for all of Momma's children.

Storyteller and popular speaker Cindy K. Sproles pens a tender novel full of sacrifice, heartache, and courage in the face of overwhelming obstacles.

MY THOUGHTS.....

'I was afraid. Afraid of bein alone. Not afraid of bein by myself, but of bein alone---with nobody that cared.'

At seventeen, Worie Dressar has seen a lot of trouble and endured a lot of hurts and now, she is experiencing the worst pain of all! After finding her mother dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, Worie is both grief-stricken and angry! Why would her mother leave her alone to deal with two brothers who have done nothing to help the two of them since her father died? But Worie has been taught well, and after burying her momma, she sets out to carry on!

Cindy K. Sproles is a new-to-me author and I was captivated by her story that begins in Sourwood Mountain, Tennessee in 1877. Her characters are fascinating and I was especially drawn to Worie and her special friends, Ely and Bess. Ely and Bess are loving, God-fearing people and I believe that it is their Christian witness that allows Worie to grow in her own faith and to carry on the work of her Momma. It is the discovery that her Momma had been secretly caring for children who had been orphaned by "the fever" that offers Worie another challenge and a new mission. How can she help them when she can barely feed herself? Is there a chance of redemption for her brothers, Calvin and Justice? Will Worie finally find peace, forgiveness, and a family as she works to provide homes for these precious children?

Appalachian dialect, an implied mystery about Worie's own birth, and the historical facts about the typhoid and influenza epidemics that invaded the Appalachian Mountains are all reasons that I enjoyed this book. What Momma Left Behind is a story that I won't soon forget and I recommend it to all who enjoy historical Christian fiction.

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Baker Publishing Group/Revell through Interviews & Reviews for my honest opinion.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cindy K. Sproles is an author and a speaker, whose dream is to do nothing more than craft words that speak from the heart. God's plan seems to be for her to write and teach the craft.  With God’s guidance, Cindy is expanding her horizons. We'll see how He uses her.

Cindy is a mountain gal. Proud of her heritage, she was born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains where life is simple, words have a deep southern drawl, and colloquialisms like, "well slap my knee and call me corn pone" seem to take precedence over proper speech. Apple Butter, coal mining, the river, pink sunrises, and golden sunsets help you settle into a porch swing and relax. Family, the love of God, and strong morals are embedded into her life in the mountains. Teaching writers, spinning fiction tales about life in the mountains, history, and down-home ideas find their way into all she does. “I love to write devotions, to seek after the deeper side of Christ, and to share the lessons He teaches me from life in the hills of East Tennessee. I am a writer. A speaker. A lover of God's Word and friend to all.” 

Learn more at her Website     Facebook     Twitter     Instagram

View all my reviews