My Never Ending List

Sometimes when I read historical fiction, I wonder if I am as soft as I feel I am. Reading how hard these individuals worked and lived just to survive, amazes me very time.  As they toiled and labored each day to survive, working from sun-up to sundown to bring food to the table or to help their neighbor, I wonder if I could survive such strenuous activities every day.   I know individuals say you adjust to what needs to be done and perhaps I would but just thinking about all the emotional and physical aspects of what they endured astonishes me.

I felt this way as I read this novella. With only 18 pages, the sights, smells and emotional aspects that were packed inside its pages were astonishing. Again, Bette Crosby does a fabulous job with her writing as I felt I was sent back in time as I read this novella. Mama wanted to provide a homestead for her family now that George had passed away. Mama didn’t hold back her feelings when her George passed away as I felt the tears fall from her eyes as she tried to stay strong for her family. Mama was attentive with her children, she made them pitch in to help support each other and she made them stay strong when the going got tough. Mama was the sturdy one in the family while the children complained about the working conditions, mama never said anything.   I loved Mama for her determination to stay strong for her family, to show to her family that she believed in them and that she wanted her family to work together for she knew that they could accomplish great things. As the family matured, they grew and life changed. The house remained a structure but its intention changes and grows. Mama names the house, Hopeful, a name that others can carry forward with them on their journey as they stop by and take a piece of it home with them.   Hopeful: a bright light when your future seemed dark. Hopeful: a place where you could come and rest your soul. Hopeful: where individuals welcomed you for who you are. Hopeful: your future now.

I received a copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.