The Spirit of Covington: A Novel

I enjoyed this book in the Covington series. It started out rather dramatically with a fire that quickly spread in the cove. The fire destroys the farmhouse, the ladies of Covington are devastated. Slowly they begin the process of rebuilding. Many developments in this story prove interesting. Hannah's daughter develops a relationship with Hank and they are going to have a baby. Hannah and Max become very close and decide to marry. Like the other books in this series, this one deals with many family issues in a beautiful setting of the Appalachian mountains.

Here is another book from Joan A medlicotts inspiring series about three ladies of a certain age who have made a life for themselves in a small north Carolina mountain town. There are trials and tribulations all brought to an end with courage dignity and fortitude by the three ladies. Other characters in the book add only add to the charm of the story. God Bless the ladies of Covington, they will live in my heart forever.

Medlicott has a 'winner' in this series of "Covington" books. I highly recommend this book and the rest in the series. Can't wait for #6. "The Spirit of Covington" (#5 in the series)didn't have as many 'twists and turns' as the previous 4 books, but has an excellent "set up" for the next in the series (due out Fall 2005). The writing is so descriptive that I felt like I could drive to Covington, NC and know everyone and every place there. Great character development. Good blend of cultural expectations of the 40s and present day "life" issues.

I wanted to devour this book as if it were a fine meal served at one of the best restaurants in town! Warm and wonderful, like Kidd's "Secret Life of Bees," and well-written and moving, like McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" this inspiring and heart-felt book will leave you wanting more. A highly recommended and compelling tale.

They?re back! The Covington Ladies (Hannah, Grace, and Amelia) and their white farmhouse captured my heart in previous novels, so I am overjoyed by their return. When I saw Joan Medlicott?s newest release, The Spirit of Covington, I could hardly wait to actually get the book in my hands and ?catch up? with the goings on in the lives of these special ladies.In my eagerness I wanted to devour the book, but at the same time I wanted to savor every word because Joan Medlicott is a masterful storyteller and should have begun her writing career decades ago. She can take the simplest phrase and write it with exquisite beauty. That ability is one of the many things that make her books so appealing and such a joy to read. You only have to read a few sentences in the first two paragraphs of The Spirit of Covington to understand that. As this story opens, a spark??flared to life among dry leaves and snaked toward the woods?. Joan Medlicott gave animation to that fire, causing me to see it with perfect clarity when she wrote, ?By two A.M., a necklace of gold edged the outer fringe of trees, and by three A.M. it had crawled into the woods.? That sentence made me shiver because it foreshadowed the devastation that was to follow.As the fire moved closer to the beloved farmhouse, Amelia?s heartbreaking, wide-eyed fear of its all-consuming temperament was palpable. She only had to touch her scars to remember another fire many years ago and the painful burns it had inflicted on her. Of course she, Grace, and Hannah fled helter-skelter from their white farmhouse with only the few things they could carry in trash bags that Hannah had hastily snatched for each of them. Strong, steady Hannah was the only one who was able to set aside her shock and hastily grab their important papers including the deed to the farmhouse.In the days and weeks that followed the fire, our ladies were separated for the first time since they had bravely joined forces and left the Pennsylvania nursing home together years earlier. As each year passed, they had learned to depend on each other?s special strengths and had carved out a life for themselves in their new community. Now, in their isolation, they were depriving themselves of the very essence of what had always sustained each of them. During the many unpredictable changes in their lives, I began to fear that they would be unable to find their way back to their former loving and supportive relationships. I also feared that rebuilding their farmhouse would be too difficult for them, but unexpected help came from many people. Some were people in the community whom they had befriended through the years, but many were complete strangers. These strangers had read about the fire in the paper, and offers of help, not to mention money, began to flood in. Such kindness overwhelmed our ladies.Change and the challenges it often brings filled the pages of this book. Gentle, anxious Amelia confronted the tortures of depression, and Grace found hersel