The Inspiration for Gracie’s Babies

aunt Gracie, PICTURED WITH HER HUSBAND, Stephen, AND HER FATHER

The Inspiration for Gracie’s Babies

If you’ve been reading Tennessee Mountain Stories for long at all, you will know that the novels I write are inspired by local characters – and we’ve had some real characters to choose from! 

Because these stories are fictional, I do change the names and don’t often say a whole lot about where the inspiration originates.  However, the inspiration for Gracie Ingle in my latest book, Gracie’s Babies, is so widely known and loved that she can scarcely be anonymous.

I’ve written before about Aunt Gracie Todd and all of the lives she touched as a local midwife.   Here was an article here about the records she left behind of some of the births she assisted.

As I talked to some people who knew her well, they could only praise her.  In fact, one neighbor called her an “angel among women.”  As I researched other mountain midwifes, I found similar sentiment.  Either this was the nature of a woman who would rush to your bedside at any hour of the day or night, or maybe you’d naturally feel that affinity for someone who came to help you in one of your most vulnerable hours.  Whichever the case, Aunt Gracie Todd was much loved and today, some sixty years after her death, her name is still often spoken and fondly remembered.

Aunt Gracie’s granddaughter, Kathleen Carroll, grew up in the house with her and she has been a real blessing to me as I sought to learn about this woman who would star in my story.  Many little details from the story are true to Gracie’s life.  She did make a habit of changing her dress before going into her house, lest she bring home unwanted pests from some of the sadder places she visited.  However, there was never any mention that there were places she was not willing to go to help someone in need.

The property where I’ve set Gracie’s Babies was the home place of Ray Buck’s grandparents.  So he spent a lot of time there through the years and certainly heard stories about it.  He talked about the ladies of the family gathering at the spring to do their wash and that was such a neat thing I’ve included it in the story. 

These real-life facts are so interesting to me that I know I could not imagine better scenes to include in my books.  And I am more grateful than I can express to the people who answer my endless questions and share their memories of these precious people from the past with me.

Announcing Gracie's Babies

I don’t think I can ever explain to you how much it moves and honors me when I meet readers or receive email from you saying that you enjoyed one of my books.  When you ask if there’s another one coming it’s especially exciting.  Honestly, when I wrote Margaret’s Faith I don’t think I imagined I’d ever write another one.  Then there was Replacing Ann, followed by Plans for Emma, and I am so thrilled to tell you that Gracie’s Babies is now available!

In the next few weeks I’ll tell you a little more about the story, the inspiration behind it and even my plans for the next book. 

The books are available online at Amazon.com – both in print and ebook formats.  By next week you’ll be able to pick-up a copy at Hall’s Family Pharmacy in both their Jamestown and Clarkrange locations, the Homestead Tower Museum in Crossville, or, if you’re up in the Smokies, you can find a copy at French’s Shoes and Boots either in Sevierville or in Pigeon Forge.  As I make those deliveries, I’ll post on Facebook so you can have realtime updates if you follow Author Beth Durham  (@AuthorBethDurham).

As always, I really hope you will leave a review on Amazon as that’s a great way to spread the word that the book is out there and worth your time to read it.

Following is the synopsis from the back of the book so you’ll have an idea of what’s inside:

While accompanying her grandmother on a neighborhood visit, Gracie Berai learns a skill that will change her life when she must deliver the young woman’s baby.  Gracie is terrified as events spin around her but Grandma Elmore immediately recognizes that Gracie has a gift for midwifing.  Gracie continues to learn from her grandmother and when she moves to Martha Washington with her new husband word quickly spreads and her help is sought again and again.  Is this really the role God would have for a newly-married girl?

Soon Gracie has a thriving practice.  She’s happy to serve God and her community in this way; however, her own dream of a large family is not materializing.  She struggles with the Lord and feels His promise that He will bless her with children if she will obey him.  She never doubts God will be faithful to his word, but how long must she wait?

As you walk with Gracie among her mountain people, you will see her own faith grow as she shares God’s love and healing with her family and neighbors.

Gracie’s Babies is a sequel to Margaret’s Faith.

Revival Meetings

Revival MeetingsMy church has been in revival this week and coincidentally there’s also a revival meeting in the early chapters of Gracie’s Babies.  So, as we met an evangelist and prayed for the Spirit to move, my mind had already been on a “protracted meeting” and I couldn’t help but make a mental comparison.

You may recall in some of the writings by Callie Melton that I shared here last year, she talked about preachers coming into the neighborhood to hold “protracted meetings” – I like that term.  I guess that while we schedule special gospel meetings for 3-5 days they opened a revival and kept it open so long as the Spirit was moving.  And the Spirit did not disappoint in many of those meetings. 

Meeting in brush arbors or hot church houses, the crowd would often be standing room only.  Families walked, rode a mule or drove rough wagons sometimes for hours to attend.  Even in the 1980’s I remember revival meetings that were standing room only, and we didn’t have air conditioning for those August dates either. 

Today we’ll drive to church on smoothly paved roads in temperature controlled cars, sit in cool sanctuaries on padded seats.  There will be electric lights so no matter how late the preacher holds you, there’s little chance you’ll be sitting in the dark and a sound system ensures even those in the back of the building clearly hear the sermon.  Yet we’ll be lucky to have half the seats filled (okay that statement was void of any faith, wasn’t it?)

In the upcoming book, the Clear Creek Baptist Church hosts a traveling evangelist who preaches for a full week.  Gracie, the book’s protagonist, has to miss the first meeting as she attends a sick neighbor.  While she’s deeply blessed to be at the bedside there’s a pang of regret at missing the revival service – and all the action her sister comes home to report.  Not to fear though, Gracie and her family will make it to every other meeting that week as will young people from all of the surrounding communities.  It’s clear that the Bible lessons are only part of what those teens want from the services yet they eagerly participate in that part as well as the fellowship with old and new friends alike.

In fact, the meetings of old truly did revive those attending.  I’m not sure what’s changed in our crowds or our hearts since then but I sure wish we could get back to something close to the spirit of those protracted meetings.