"I actually had no intention of returning to Troublesome Creek, or for that matter ever writing again after my husband and I suffered through The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek's tumultuous journey. I spent more than five years and 14- to 16-hour days writing that story, and while doing research I was seriously injured and my husband almost died. There were too many sacrifices and losses stacking up, so I made the heartbreaking decision that my writing journey had ended. After publication, I began receiving hundreds of letters from all over the world—letters from folks of all ages, from churches of every denomination, schools and universities and more, pleading for me to continue the family's journey. Two women even wrote how they had been so inspired by the story that they started bookmobiles in underserved areas at the height of the pandemic. One day, after months of receiving these moving notes, my husband came into my office with tears in his eyes and said, 'You must write the stories to honor your Kentucky people. Lift up other women.' I then began to realize it could be a healthy way for me to climb out of the personal grief I'd been wading through, and to do just that: celebrate and pay tribute to brave women." – Kim Michele Richardson, writer of The Book Woman's Daughter