After a New York tenement fire kills their immigrant parents in 1886, Maelle, Mattie, and Molly Gallagher soon find themselves aboard a crowded orphan train - hoping a family will adopt them in Missouri. Despite eight-year-old Maelle's best efforts to keep the young survivors together, they must split up.

The practice of ministering to the widows and orphans is reflected in this story of Christina Willems, a young woman from Kansas, in 1884, who is determined to reopen the poor farm she manages after a fire devastates the property. She finds opposition from many surprising corners but an unlikely ally in a lumber mill owner who wants nothing more than to hold himself aloof from the world and its troubles. Levi Jonnson agrees to take care of one of the poor farm residents, a young blind boy - and in doing so opens himself up to Christina's world in ways he wouldn't have imagined.

Neva Shilling has a heavy load of responsibility while her husband travels to neighboring communities and sells items from his wagon. In his absence, she faithfully runs the Shilling Mercantile, working to keep their business strong as the Depression takes its toll, and caring for their twins. When a wagon pulls up after supper, Neva and her children rush out - and into the presence of the deputy driving a wagon carrying three young children.

CBA best-selling author and Carol Award winner Kim Vogel Sawyer weaves tales of romance and faith that keep fans coming back for more. In Through the Deep Waters, timid Dinah Hubley takes a job as a chambermaid in a Kansas hotel after leaving her life in a Chicago brothel. Carrying memories that shame her to the core, Dinah spurns the attention of Amos Ackerman, a farmer who knows the healing power of Christ’s love.

Indentured servant Fanny Beck has been forced to sing for riverboat passengers since she was a girl. All she wants is to live a quiet, humble life with her family as soon as her seven-year contract is over. However, when she discovers that the captain has no intention of releasing her, she seizes a sudden opportunity to escape - an impulse that leads Fanny to a group of enslaved people who are on their own dangerous quest for liberty.

Twenty-one-year-old Rebecca Hardin is determined to help provide for her family, living a hardscrabble life in 1910 in the Southern Kentucky hills. Her brother, Andy, died when he became lost in a cave five years earlier, and Rebecca feels responsible for his death because she'd told him to "go, get lost". The best wages at Mammoth Cave are earned by the guides, who receive a salary plus tips from the guests. But only men are allowed to be guides, so Rebecca cuts her hair, dons some of Andy's clothes, and introduces herself as Reb to the estate manager.

After reading about the popularity in New York of the Frauenverein, a benevolent society dedicated to caring for German widows and orphans, the women of a Mennonite community in Alexandertol, Kansas, eagerly organize their own group and begin to identify the individuals most in need of their assistance. Schoolteacher Augusta Dyck is particularly grateful to have meaningful work to occupy her time when classes are closed for planting season, and she's certain the quiet and reserved widower Konrad Rempel and his two young twin boys should be high on the list of people to receive help.

When Gilbert Baty leaves his childhood love and moves to New York City in 1901 to secure his place as a composer and conductor, he is met with rejection at every turn. Out of funds and opportunities, he returns to his hometown, the Mennonite community of Falke, Kansas, in the hopes of finding new inspiration—and work—just to tide him over. Ava Flaming never expected to see Gil again, and his sudden return stirs the old feelings she’d worked so hard to bury. When Gil forms the town’s first youth band, she finds herself falling for him all over again.

Suddenly all alone in 1894 Kansas, Summer Steadman can't find the employment she needs to settle near the fresh graves of her husband and four children. Bitter against the Lord and refusing to eat, she collapses in despair. Remembering his own painful loss, godly widower Peter Ollenbuger offers her food and shelter for tutoring his 10-year-old son.

When a suspicious accident occurs at the famous Dinsmore Chocolate Factory in Sinclair, Kansas, Caroline Lang goes undercover as a factory worker to investigate the circumstances surrounding the event and how the factory treats its youngest employees - the child workers. Caroline' s fervent faith, her difficult childhood, and compassionate heart drove her to her job as an investigator for the Labor Commission and she is compelled to see children freed from such heavy adult responsibilities, to allow them to pursue an education.

During the Great Depression, city-dweller Addie Cowherd dreams of becoming a novelist and offering listeners the escape that books had given her during her tragic childhood. When her father loses his job, she is forced to take the only employment she can find delivering books on horseback to poor coal-mining families in the hills of Kentucky. But turning a new page will be nearly impossible in Boone's Hollow, where residents are steeped in superstitions and deeply suspicious of outsiders.

Growing up in the foster care system, Jase Edgar always dreamed of one day starting his own family. But his fiancée's untimely death shattered his plans. Moving to Kansas and serving as a youth minister should be a fresh start, but he can't seem to set aside his doubts about God's goodness long enough to embrace his new life. Newly appointed church custodian Lori Fowler is battling her own challenges.

When Meghan DeFord is forced to take a six-week leave-of-absence after a traffic accident, she chooses to spend the time with her grandmother. Meghan has wonderful memories of childhood summers with her Grandma Hazel and anticipates a time of relaxation and filling a scrapbook with pictures of their time together. Meghan's mother arrives unexpectedly and brings her long resentment towards Hazel for her overprotectiveness and near paranoia. During their time together, Hazel confesses her long-held secret....

Set in World War II New York, Sweet Sanctuary introduces Lydia Eldridge, her young son Nicky, and Dr. Micah Hatcher, a man from Lydia's past. Lydia is desperate to protect Nicky from his drug-addicted father. Leaning on Micah, who's hiding secrets of his own, they are seeking refuge and safety -- for themselves, for Nicky, and for those around them. But will they ever find it?

She left, heavily weighted with secrets. But God reveals all things, in His timing. And He redeems them. Suzanne Zimmerman was only 17 and pregnant when her shamed mother quietly sent her away from their Old Order Mennonite community in Kansas. With her old home, family, and first love firmly behind her, Suzanne moved to Indiana, became a nurse, and raised a daughter, Alexa, on her own. Now, nearly 20 years later, an unexpected letter arrives from Kansas.

During the Great Depression, city-dweller Addie Cowherd dreams of becoming a novelist and offering listeners the escape that books had given her during her tragic childhood. When her father loses his job, she is forced to take the only employment she can find delivering books on horseback to poor coal-mining families in the hills of Kentucky. But turning a new page will be nearly impossible in Boone's Hollow, where residents are steeped in superstitions and deeply suspicious of outsiders.

She left, heavily weighted with secrets. But God reveals all things, in His timing. And He redeems them. Suzanne Zimmerman was only 17 and pregnant when her shamed mother quietly sent her away from their Old Order Mennonite community in Kansas. With her old home, family, and first love firmly behind her, Suzanne moved to Indiana, became a nurse, and raised a daughter, Alexa, on her own. Now, nearly 20 years later, an unexpected letter arrives from Kansas.

When Meghan DeFord is forced to take a six-week leave-of-absence after a traffic accident, she chooses to spend the time with her grandmother. Meghan has wonderful memories of childhood summers with her Grandma Hazel and anticipates a time of relaxation and filling a scrapbook with pictures of their time together. Meghan's mother arrives unexpectedly and brings her long resentment towards Hazel for her overprotectiveness and near paranoia. During their time together, Hazel confesses her long-held secret....

With their eldest son nearly to the age when he will be drafted into military service, Reinhardt and Lillian Vogt decide to immigrate to America, the land of liberty, with their three sons and Reinhardt's adopted brother, Eli. But when tragedy strikes during the voyage, Lillian and Eli are forced into an agreement neither desires.

Suddenly all alone in 1894 Kansas, Summer Steadman can't find the employment she needs to settle near the fresh graves of her husband and four children. Bitter against the Lord and refusing to eat, she collapses in despair. Remembering his own painful loss, godly widower Peter Ollenbuger offers her food and shelter for tutoring his 10-year-old son.

With Pap hauled off to the state penitentiary, Bettina finally feels safe. Living with Nanny Fay Tucker, working as a packhorse librarian, and being courted by Shay Leeson is a life beyond anything she'd imagined. And it's only going to get better. Because soon she'll be an honorary auntie to her best friend Addie's baby, and--for sure not much longer--she'll exchange vows with Shay and become his wife. Things in Boone's Hollow couldn't be rosier...until she gets word that the governor suspended Pap's sentence and he'll be coming back sooner than she expected. Shay wants to marry her real ...

To escape a forced marriage, Cora Taylor travels from England to the Blue Ridge Mountains in search of her brother, who is working as a teacher in a mission school. She hopes to find a place where her nursing skills and independent ideas will be accepted and appreciated, but nothing prepares her for the wild mixture of isolation, community, brokenness, and hope within these mountains … or in the person of Jeb McAdams.

Orphaned in the cholera epidemic of 1833, Adria Starr was cared for by a slave named Louis, a man who stayed in Springfield, Kentucky, when anyone with means had fled. A man who passed up the opportunity to escape his bondage and instead tended to the sick and buried the dead. A man who, 12 years later, is being sold by his owners despite his heroic actions. Now 19, Adria has never forgotten what Louis did for her. She's determined to find a way to buy Louis's freedom. But in 1840s Kentucky, she'll face an uphill battle.

This award-winning, coming-of-age gem by Jennifer Erin Valent recounts one farm family's struggle against racial bigotry in Depression-era Virginia. When Jessilyn's parents begin raising her best friend as their own daughter, this kindness toward a dark-skinned orphan triggers threats and violence. While teetering on the brink of womanhood, Jessilyn must learn to be a shining light in a dark world.

Six-time Christy Award winner Lynn Austin has won a loyal following for her inspiring historical fiction. In Wonderland Creek, young Chicago-area librarian Alice Grace Ripley is left heartbroken when her fiancé breaks up with her just as the Great Depression forces her out of a job. To escape the local gossip, Alice volunteers to deliver donated books to a library in rural Kentucky. There she discovers that God still has a plan for her after all.

Young Julie Harmon works "hard as a man", they say, so hard that at times she's not sure she can stop. People depend on her to slaughter the hogs and nurse the dying. People are weak, and there is so much to do. At just 17 she marries and moves down into the valley of Gap Creek, where perhaps life will be better. But Julie and Hank's new life in the valley, in the last years of the 19th century, is more complicated than the couple ever imagined.

Twenty-one-year-old Rebecca Hardin is determined to help provide for her family, living a hardscrabble life in 1910 in the Southern Kentucky hills. Her brother, Andy, died when he became lost in a cave five years earlier, and Rebecca feels responsible for his death because she'd told him to "go, get lost". The best wages at Mammoth Cave are earned by the guides, who receive a salary plus tips from the guests. But only men are allowed to be guides, so Rebecca cuts her hair, dons some of Andy's clothes, and introduces herself as Reb to the estate manager.

Grace Martindale has known more than her share of hardship. After her parents died, raising her two younger sisters became her responsibility. A hasty marriage to a minister who is heading to the untamed West seemed like an opportunity for a fresh start, but a cholera outbreak along the wagon trail has left Grace a widow in a very precarious position.

Although Jessilyn and Gemma’s friendship has weathered the storms of heartache and prejudice, the turbulent summer of 1936 threatens to shatter the ties that bind. After the hit-and-run death of a little girl, Gemma’s explosive revelation could save an innocent man’s life—but not without jeopardizing the livelihood of Jessilyn’s family.

Award-winning authors Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller launch an enthralling 1890s trilogy set in the St. Lawrence River's opulent Thousand Islands - summer playground of the privileged. A Daughter's Inheritance explores the ever-changing fortunes of 17-year-old Fanny Broadmoor.