These Healing Hills

Ann H Gabhart writes soul-wrenching novels that grab the reader on the very first page and shakes her around, then lets her go, wrung out, and exhausted at the very last page. 

These Healing Hills begins toward the end of World War II and covers about a year of Francine's and Ben's life. 

Francine has joined the Frontier Nurses in the hills of Kentucky, coming from Cincinnati. In joining the Frontier Nurses, she is taught midwifery and signs on for a full year of service to the hill people of Kentucky. 

One of the first families she works with is the Locke family.  The youngest child, Sadie, is feeling porely (you have to say this aloud in your head to get the full gist of the jargon of the hill people) and Francine is treating her.  Sadie's brother, Woody, was the first of the Lockes to meet Francine because she got lost getting to the medical center up in the hills.  He helped her find her way and often came to the center and ended up going with her to many of her calls, just to make sure she finds her way to her patients.  Woody is also a fount of knowledge of the people of the hills and doesn't mind sharing his knowledge. 

Woody's brother, Ben, is serving as a medic in the army in France and is waiting to come home.  The only problem is that Ben doesn't know what he wants to do when he gets home.

Ben and Francine's worlds collide almost as soon as he gets home and then they repeatedly run into each other.  Each time, something grows between them. 

Ann has left the ending open a bit so that a sequel could be written to this book. It is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a guide through the hills of Kentucky.  (And I really relate to Francine, I can get lost at the drop of a hat).

My thanks to Revell Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.