Beyond All Measure (38 page)

To my readers, thank you for taking Ada and Wyatt and all of Hickory Ridge into your hearts. I love hearing from you through my website,
www.dorothylovebooks.com
, or by snail mail in care of Thomas Nelson (P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000, Attention Author Mail).

Finally and most especially, thank you to Ron, who jumped onto this roller coaster called a writer’s life with me fifteen years ago and has never let go. I love you.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Dear Readers,

As women, we connect to each other first through our hearts. I hope that reading Ada’s story of finding her faith, finding herself, and finding Wyatt has touched your heart as deeply as the writing of it touched mine.

In writing this book, I relied upon the contemporaneous diaries and journals of several nineteenth-century Southern women who lived through the War Between the States and its aftermath, numerous biographies of such women, and several general histories, especially
Tennesseans and Their History
by Paul H. Bergeron, Stephen V. Ash, and Jeanette Keith. These authors’ careful research and thoughtful commentary were invaluable in helping me understand the people and their times.

Lumber mills were one of the few industries that prospered in the postbellum years. However, for purposes of the story, I made Wyatt’s mill and the town of Hickory Ridge a bit more prosperous than most towns of the time actually were. I also bent the timeline just a fraction for the scene in which Sophie first sees a typewriter. Although quite a few prototypes of a “typewriting machine” appeared in the first half of the nineteenth century, a practical version was not commercially available until 1873. Otherwise I’ve tried to remain faithful to the historical record.

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know the people of Hickory Ridge and that you’ll hop the train for another visit next year when Ada and Wyatt return to attend a wedding, and the widow Carrie Daly finds her life changing in more ways than she ever could have dreamed.

Blessings,
Dorothy

READING GROUP GUIDE

1. At Nate’s bookshop, Ada tells Wyatt that she’d rather have contentment than happiness. Which would you choose? Why?

2. Wyatt (referring to Thackeray) asks whether achieving one’s desires increases happiness. What do you think?

3. Ada quotes her father as saying that an “invisible thread” connects us forever to our place of birth. Do you agree? Why or why not?

4. Upon her arrival in Hickory Ridge, Ada feels drawn against her will into the bonds of the community. What does community mean to you? Is there a downside to being part of a community?

5. Both Ada and Wyatt experience a distancing from God as a result of painful experiences. How did this affect their ability to grow as individuals and as a couple? How have you handled such experiences in your own life?

6. How does Lillian’s advice to Ada help in her struggle to forgive Edward? Can you share a time in your life when you were required to forgive someone? What spiritual teachings or scripture helped you to forgive?

7. Ada and Wyatt have very different ways of dealing with their pasts. How did their coping strategies affect them as individuals? As a couple?

8. Ada believed in God, yet she was unable to believe in a divine plan for her life. Have you ever had a similar experience? How did you handle it?

9. Ada is drawn to the idea of making her own way in the world, yet she fears that she may fail at it. Have you ever experienced a crisis of confidence? What was the outcome?

10. Ada’s move to Hickory Ridge turns out to be a greater blessing than she ever could have imagined. Have you ever experienced a disaster that later turned into a blessing? What happened?