About the Book

Book: Hope Like Wildflowers

Author: Pepper Basham

Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction

Release date: October, 2024

An Appalachian Girl Seeks a Place to Belong
Return to the mountains of 1910s Appalachia with beloved author Pepper Basham to discover Kizzie McAdams’s story.

Kizzie McAdams spent her childhood longing to see beyond the mountains of home, but when her job as a servant in a landowner’s house results in an unplanned pregnancy, her world tips into uncertainty and heartbreak. Disowned by her father, she seeks comfort in the arms of the man who promises to take care of her, but his support is conditional and inconsistent. She finds acceptance in the home of a nearby family who not only offer Kizzie friendship but point her to a deeper understanding of God’s love.

Despite her change of heart, her status as a social outcast brings with it continued threats and alienation so she flees her past in hopes of starting over in a nearby town. But her new world carries many of the same prejudices as the old. It also brings the unexpected friendship of businessman Noah Lewis, a man who lives with the same desire as Kizzie for helping the marginalized.

Unfortunately, Kizzie and Noah’s attempts to help those in need pit them against Noah’s elder brother, a powerful mill owner who holds control of the family finances. Is Kizzie and Noah’s growing romance strong enough to battle family power, social expectations, and Kizzie’s past to capture their happy ending? And when Kizzie’s first love returns to claim her, which future will she choose?

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About the Author

Pepper Bashamis an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor with southern Appalachian flair. Both her historical and contemporary novels have garnered recognition in the Grace Awards, Inspys, and ACFW Carol Awards. Her historical romance, The Thorn Healer, was a finalist in the 2018 RT Awards. Her historical romance novels, My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge and The Red Ribbon, and her contemporary novels, the Mitchell’s Crossroads and Pleasant Gap series, showcase her Appalachian heritage, as well as her love for humor and family. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the mom of five great kids, a speech-language pathologist to about fifty more, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus.

More from Pepper

It’s pretty easy to overlook wildflowers.

I mean, until they show off all their pretty colors, especially in the middle of a barren place, then they’re noticed and usually appreciated but did you know there’s a lot more to wildflowers that…meets the eye?

Apart from providing food and shelter for smaller animals and/or insects or assisting bees in pollination, wildflowers can be used as an ingredient for healing remedies and contribute to soil health and reduce erosion.

Especially in places where other plants aren’t likely to grow. They’re known as “hardy” because they can survive all sorts of weather conditions, extreme temperature, animal damage, even drought.

So why am I talking about wildflowers??

Because, in lots of ways, wildflowers are a great example of what hope looks like.

Hope nourishes. Romans 15: 14 “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” When we recall and reflect on what the Bible says about who we are in Christ, our hearts are encouraged and given the spiritual energy they need to remind ourselves of truth in the middle of hard times and wilderness-living.
Hope spreads – Romans 15:13 – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” A heart filled with the knowledge of the love of God is a heart filled and “overflowing” with hope…and that hope is contagious. When we know whose we are and what our future looks like because of the One who loves us, we live in joy…even when the storms come.
Hope restores and heals: “Isaiah 40:31 reads, “For those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
Hope protects – Psalm 62:5-6 “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.” Life is hard. Sometimes, bone-achingly, soul-shakingly hard. If we’re reliant on our own ability to protect our faith or mind or soul, we will fail. We’re not strong enough and neither is any of our human defenses, but God is amply able to protect us from the storms, trials, and droughts that mean to wither our hope. HE is the hero of our heart’s story and he is armed to overcome so we can trust Him with our hope and our futures.
And hope grows in the hard places. Hope does not consist of weak or wishful thinking, it grows out of nutrients squeezed from the soil it has. Hard-won, many times. Romans 5:3-4 “ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” A life with Christ doesn’t mean that pain is taken away, but there is a promise and purpose in the pain. The promise that God is with us and a purpose that He is making us more like Him.

Hope Like Wildflowers tells the story of hope, but the main character, Kizzie, isn’t relying on her own abilities to keep her hope strong. Oh no! She learned to trust in the only One who is strong enough to BE her hope. He nourishes her heart when her life has turned upside down and she’s been forsaken. He restores and heals her when she’s been broken and cast out. He protects her from dangerous men who try to hurt her, but also he protects her heart from choosing the wrong path. And through the hard places of life, Kizzie’s hope overflows in joy to touch the lives of those around her.

And it’s beautiful and unexpected.

Like wildflowers.

How has God helped bring hope to your life? What trials has His hope helped you through?

My Impressions

“Somehow, even in the middle of broken dreams, God touches the raw, painful remnants with a teensy bit of stardust.”

Pepper Basham invites us back to the 1910s in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where people are still divided by their socio-economic and racial status. This book, Hope Like Wildflowers, is so well-titled! As Basham explains, wildflowers will fight their way up through mountain rock and other areas that one would think impossible soil. Yet, beauty springs out of surprising hardship. It is leaning into the Rock that is bigger and stronger than ourselves that gives strength to endure and overcome. We cannot do it on our own, as Nella encourages Kizzie. “Life is hard, Kizzie. You can look for easy in all kinds of places, but more likely than not, that easy turns to its own kind of hard. The real test is what you do when the hard comes. There’s bound to be more times in life than not that the hard gets too big for your own shoulders. That’s why you need someone bigger, stronger, wiser.”

What a journey you will go on with young Kizzie McAdams. We first see a bedraggled, rejected, pregnant, poor, mountain girl struggling to survive. But as Kizzie begins to spend time with her friends John and Nella, she begins to see there is a different road to life available, if she chooses. One that she will not have to walk alone. At first, it seems Kizzie will get trampled and tossed aside by those who are bigger and stronger. Every decision she makes will have you yearning with her as you see her difficult choices.

Fortunately, Faith is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. As Kizzie makes decisions and moves to leave her old life behind, life actually gets harder in many ways. Will she return to her old ways, to the promised security, or will she continue to step out in faith and love?

Ms. Basham pens her novel with beautiful descriptions of the Appalachians, slices of local color, and great relatable characters with tough choices. While part of a series, this book can stand alone. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Catherine Marshall’s Christy.

I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit via NetGalley. I also bought my own copy for my keeper shelf. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.

Notable Quotables:

“It’s difficult to smile when your focus is on things that rarely lead to joy.”

“Sometimes the very best folks rise out of a second chance because they know what they’ve been forgiven of.”

“My mama says that our true self rises to the top when we’re mad or when no one’s looking.”-Kizzie

“The Lord don’t want nothing to do with the likes of me, Nella.” “Well, that just goes to show how little you know about the Lord. The broken kind’s who He’s been after from the start.”

“True compassion cared with a steel spine.”

My Rating

Magnificent! What a poignant time to read Hope Like Wildflowers- when Appalachia must again wade through a very difficult time, but is buoyed by the strength and resilience of its people and their hope for the future!