Author: William Leverne Smith
Publisher: Vision to Action Publishing
ISBN: 9781451560404
Genre: fiction
About the Book (from Goodreads.com)
The novel is set on a farm and in a nearby fictional community located in the southern Missouri Ozark hills and near a fictional western branch of the Current River. The story revolves around a family dilemma following the death of their matriarch and the unusual will she left to insure the continuity of the farm intact which has been in her family for over 150 years.
The year is 1987. The varied background and viewpoints of the adult children coming Back to the Homeplace ignite controversy and expose long kept secrets as each family member searches for his or her share of the family legacy. While the older family members stake their claims on land and fortunes, the younger ones search for love and acceptance. Subplots involve AIDS Awareness in 1987 issues and a support group for domestic violence incidents.
At the heart of this family life story is how we do or do not effectively communicate among family members - parents with children, among children and grandchildren.
My Thoughts:
"Back to the Homeplace" has such a sense of realism to it. It made me feel like I was reading about a real family instead of a group of fictional characters. One fascinating thing that probably made this even more realistic was the news clips that each chapter started with. They all brought back very vivid memories for me!
The storyline was true to life, and I could identify with the characters. Coming from a parent's point of view, I understood why the mother requested the children come home. Coming from a sibling's point of view, I understood the struggle with learning to work together and the sacrifices it took to come home. Coming from a child's point of view, I understood the frustration and sense of loss.
Dr. Bill certainly has a fantastic way of presenting a beautiful story. This heartwarming book is about dreams and failures, estrangements and reunions, love and disappointment, and the journey of finding the importance of family. I found it difficult to put down, as I wanted to know what happened next. I can't wait to see where Dr. Bill's next book will lead!!
About the Author:
If you would like to know where you can find updates of this and the next novel in the series, Bill has a wonderful blog called The Homeplace Series Blog. It can be found at: http://thehomeplaceseries.blogspot.com/ When you visit, make sure to sign up for his monthly e-newsletter so you don't miss out on anything.
Book was provided by the author for me to honestly review.
Thank you very much for your fine review. I hope all of your readers will give the book a read, via Kindle or hard copy. I am hard at work on the sequel, "The Home Place Revisited" ;-)
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