ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Books are never written alone, although writing can be a solitary life. Novels that take place in a bygone era are certainly not written alone.

And so I say thank you to all those who were instrumental in helping me create what has become one of my favorite stories to date.

To my brother, Van Purvis, who shared with me about WWII POWs in Georgia and the stories our grandmother told him. Thank you to my aunt Audrey Purvis Deloach, who shared about her life as a farmer’s daughter in the 1940s. Thank you to my old classmates Craig Evans, a sixth-generation Southern farmer who explained so much about farming, both now and during WWII (and thank you to our classmate Marty Robinson, for suggesting I speak to him!), and Ron Evans, whose service to our country is beyond appreciated. The moments I spent with you and Jan Gay in the hallway of Veterans’ Victory House as the WWII soldier “graduated to glory” will forever stay with me.

Aunt Mary Beth Kicklighter Branch, thank you for the brief story you shared with me many, many years ago about marrying Uncle Warner and then not seeing him again for so long because of the war. This brief exchange has resonated within my heart all these years. Huge thank-yous to my uncles Jerry and Bobby Kicklighter —Mother’s big brothers —who also shared so much with me about life at home during the war, about my great-grandfather losing much of his land for Camp (Fort) Stewart, and about how life in the South changed during those years. Uncle Jerry, your story about the cow and the bell made it into the book!

Allison Bottke, you helped me understand issues of cattle enough that I felt secure in what I wrote about cows on a farm. Cynthia Howerter, thank you so much for sharing your uncle’s story, which was so much like the story I heard years ago of the WWII soldier shot down in the Pacific. A very special thank-you to my uncle Vondes Purvis, whose “bacon and eggs” line has stayed with me my whole life. (I love and miss you, still . . .)

Thank you, Jonathan Clements, agent extraordinaire, for this and so much more.

Tyndale! I love my Tyndale family and especially my editors, Jan Stob and Kathy Olson.

Thank you!!!! Sandie Bricker. As my critique partner you kept me going when I wanted to quit (somehow, always around chapter 5). You cried and laughed in all the right places. And you trust me enough to give your honest opinion.

A GIANT THX to Word Weavers International, my precious, hardworking weavers of words. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your tapestry.

Thank you, Lord God. Your goodness toward me amazes me daily.