The Ornament of Hope

By Georgia Curtis Ling

Description:

An artsy Appalachian town.
A wishing ornament.
A divine date with love.

At Christmas, can a single ornament be enough to connect two hurting people
and open their hearts to love again?

Following the advice of her therapist, SHAUNA MURPHY leaves her dream job and nightmare life behind in Atlanta. She makes the dreaded trip home for the holidays to spend with her Christmas crazy family in Spring Valley, Tennessee. Shauna is not convinced reconnecting with her Appalachian roots will be a cure-all, but she has nowhere else to go  except home. The last thing on Shauna’s mind is Christmas, but if she had one Christmas wish, all she wanted was her life back. Shauna finds moving forward from her past trauma is no easy task and worries if this is the right time to return home.

When GABE ANDERSON, a Northerner, moved to the South with his new bride to manage her family’s historic inn, he never imagined in a few short years he would be a widower, living alone in Spring Valley. Just when he felt he began living again, Gabe suffers another life altering event that leaves him questioning his future and purpose. An avid hiker, Gabe finds solace in the mountains  his refuge, his sanctuary.

After retirement, ADA TAYLOR joined the little downtown business community when she purchased a historic church building and converted it into the Mockingbird Coffee House. It is perfect for Ada since she also claims the title, First Lady, at the AME Zion Church. She is known for her traditional Southern desserts, but she makes sure every cup of coffee has an extra-shot of blessings. On more than one occasion, Ada was guilty of playing matchmaker. It turns out to be a favorite hobby.

When Ada recruits Shauna and Gabe to sponsor a wishing ornament from the Giving Tree, they begin their wish granting mission to help provide assistance to struggling families in need. They didn’t anticipate a troubled journey, and they definitely didn’t anticipate finding their own Christmas miracle.

Book Takeaway:

Readers will find love in the whispers of hope on the pages of The Ornament of Hope, and re-discover the joy of Christmas and what really matters in life...giving.

Why the author wrote this book:

This hope inspired story is centered around the annual Giving Tree program that recruits volunteers and provides assistance to struggling families in need. Set in the fictional town of Spring Valley, the charming little town nestled in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains, is known for their treasured Christmas traditions.

When my family relocated to Jonesborough, Tennessee, on our first drive along Main Street, I fell in love with this quaint little historic town and thought it would be a perfect setting for a movie or book. Jonesborough is the inspiration for the fictional town, Spring Valley. As a fan of wholesome Christmas movies, I had been tossing around in my head a story line, which came to life on that drive.

I wanted to delve deeper with the struggles and journey of loss with my characters, so the Christmas story is not all candy canes and lollipops. It’s a contemporary love story set against the struggles of the Appalachian region and the internal emotional struggles of moving beyond loss.