A SOUND AMONG the TREES by SUSAN MEISSNER

It is the Civil War in Virginia. It is also the present day in the same state and city. There are flashbacks throughout the novel which I loved to read. There are many letters that were written from Virginia to Maine. These letters were written by Susannah Paige to her cousin Eleanor. A SOUND AMONG the TREES by SUSAN MEISSNER focuses on the harsh realities of the Civil War. It is about the stress of remaining loyal to the South or North. This decision involved families. Families divided and became firmly resolved in whether to fight to uphold slavery or fight to tear down the strong fortress of American bondage.

"Did you know, Eleanor, that one tiny broken thread in a seam an lead to the eventual ruin of the entire garment? One simple bubble of air can ruin a jar of peaches? One decision you make in the blink an eye can alter your life forever?"

Throughout my life I have often heard people are still fighting the war. Isn't that amazing? I think this is why it matters how a person in today's South  feels about the Confederate flag. In the novel present day Holly Oaks is filled with the ghosts of old memories, loyalties and disloyalties. There is the true belief in the town that Susannah who lived during the Civil War is still walking the halls and rooms of this house because of her disturbed spirit.

"Well, where do you think her ghost would feel most comfortable? Where do you think her ghost would want to be?" Pearl replied. "Wouldn't she want to be in her own bedroom?"

Susannah is an interesting character because she helped Eliza spy on the Rebel and/or Confederate soldiers. Susannah and Eliza are for the Union soldier. This shows the courage of the women during this trying time. I literally shook in my shoes during parts of the novel. Women who were not nurses were also called upon at times to help doctors do bloody surgeries or sew up very injured bodies. At any moment who knew what you would have to do or not do or say or not say during a given day or month. At that time life was a horrific adventure. Even loving a man and kissing him was a major choice.

"I wanted to kiss him the way I had at the prison infirmary, wretch that I am. And God in his mercy--or perhaps in his punishment--saw to it that I could not..."


The novel is also about a marriage. Marielle marries a man whose first wife has died. He has two children. Sara's ghost, in a way, is still alive too. While reading I began to think of some memories as ghosts walking through our minds. There is also a Caroline, a once troubled daughter, who comes home again. So many important issues in this one Christian novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am so happy Tessie, the slave, gained her freedom. Although, that freedom came at great cost. I also wonder was she ever truly, literally freed? Once enslaved freedom doesn't come without struggle and heartbreak and a lack of knowing where to turn and what to do.susanmeissner

"Tessie turned and left us without a word, and I watched her walk down to the slaves' quarters at the far end of the garden. She always says, "Will there be anything else, Miss Susannah?"

What was Tessie's reality before the war and after?

"Just because you hear a rustle in the trees, that doesn't mean that the bogeyman is preparing to pounce you the minute you turn your back. Sometimes the rustling is just God sending a breeze to cool your skin after a hard day in the blazing sun."waterbrookmultnomahsneak-peek-a-sound-among-the-trees-by-susan-meissner

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