Book Review–“Along a Storied Trail” by Ann H. Gabhart
“Along a Storied Trail” is a set in Kentucky in the Appalachian mountains during the time of the Great Depression. It is a story of the life of a packhorse librarian named Tansy Calhoun and her family and neighbors during this difficult time.
Packhorse librarians were part of a government WPA program that paid people to deliver books to remote parts of the Appalachia and women were very involved in doing so. The women were called “book women” and they delivered books in all seasons and all kinds of weather.
In this story, Tansy Calhoun loved her job as a “book woman” plus the money she earned supported her family during this time because there was no work in the area for her father so he had left to look for work elsewhere, thus leaving the family to try to survive as best as they could.
The author did a wonderful job relating the life stories of the Appalachian people during these hard times and I especially enjoyed the realistic conversations in “mountain talk”, as she was able to create realistic characters by use of the speech and mannerisms of these dear mountain folk, who won my heart with their steadfast faith, and resilience.
I recommend this book to all who love reading realistic historical Christian romance.
The values, virtues, beliefs and standards found in this story are excellent and you will be enthralled with how the story progresses and ends.
I received a copy of this book from Revell a division of Baker Book Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
–Leona J. Atkinson
Some of my favorite quotes from this book:
“She hoped reading about Robinson Crusoe finding a way to survive after being shipwrecked could help this family find a way to carry on after the shipwreck of losing their father, husband, and son. ” (Tansy–page 31)
“While there were some things a book couldn’t heal, a story could give you some minutes to escape from what was to what a person could imagine.” (Tansy–page 31)
“A man might not be able to change the course of a river, but he could put his raft in it and enjoy the ride wherever he might end up.” (Caleb-page 149)
“Funny how a person hung on to things that weren’t of no use at all, but then those were the things tat pierced the soul when a body lost them.” (Perdita-page 168)