Christmas Hotel (Volume 1)

By Saundra Staats McLemore

Description:

It's December, 1941 and Jerilyn Marlene Seifert receives the dreaded telegram she's prayed she'd never have to read. Her Navy husband Ken has perished in the bombing at Pearl Harbor. Devastated, she boards a train for Nashville, to meet her husband's estranged family, but at a train stop along the way she discovers to her horror her purse has been stolen. Now widowed, four months pregnant, and penniless, Jerilyn finds herself stranded in a small town -- a complete stranger. Terrified for her future, she must learn to trust again. But is that even possible? Jerilyn drifted from the Lord years ago, and she feels unworthy to ask Him for help, until she stumbles upon a mysterious diary that will change her life forever. The compelling secrets at Christmas Hotel unleash emotions Jerilyn thought had died with her husband.

Book Takeaway:

Whatever happen's in one's life, the Lord is in control and will see us through any situation.

Why the author wrote this book:

Christmas Hotel was inspired by an article from January, 2008, in the Franklin Favorite, a newspaper in Franklin, KY. The article spoke about a diary left behind in the now razed Keystop Motel in Franklin, KY. The diary, dated 1873, possibly belonged to a young girl named C.E. Bazell from Rock Camp, Ohio. An Ohio assistant librarian traced the diary to a girl named Carrie E. Bazell who lived in Rock Camp with her parents until the late 1800s. Carrie Bazell died March 20, 1884 at the age of twenty-one, according to a brief obituary. It's amazing how a small newspaper article can stir one's heart, as this story did mine.