Hearts and Harvest

By Amber Stockton

Description:

—A destitute young man fights society's mores to win the hand of his privileged sweetheart.—

William's is a true riches to rags story...

Once members of Detroit's elite society, the Berringer family lost everything they had in the financial crash of 1893. From a life of influence and privilege, they now find themselves working a potato patch alongside immigrants and other destitute folk on borrowed land. William's resentment toward his current situation—and mostly toward God for allowing it—simmers barely beneath the surface. All it takes is one charitable visit to the fields from a lovely society darling to burst his façade of acceptance. Annabelle Lawson, convicted by her pastor's admonishing words, begins delivering food and water to the workers on her father's donated land. But as she learns the stories of the people who work there, she becomes increasingly drawn to their plight. Especially that of the inscrutable William Berringer. Can Annabelle and William overcome the stigma placed upon his family by a society that once embraced them? Will her parents remember their own meeting or forbid this budding romance altogether?

Book Takeaway:

This is best summarized by the scripture verse associated with the story: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." ~ Galatians 6:9

Why the author wrote this book:

When I was doing research for this series, I stumbled upon the financial crisis of 1893 and how in Detroit, Mayor Pingree set up a system called Pingree's Potato Patches, where the wealthy loaned their land to those who had lost so they could farm the land and earn a living while also providing crops to the city. I was fascinated at how the idea took flight and inspired other cities to do the same, so I chose a farming family who had once been rich and forced them to work on the land of a wealthy family who cared about the plight of those less fortunate.