Home Sweet HomeWhat People Are Saying
You might be wondering,
What can I expect reading A Father's Heart?
Just ask some of the folks who already have.
Set in Depression Era Portland, Oregon, A Father's Heart is rich in period language and details. Three generations of women rely on their love for each other and a steadfast faith in God to get them through hard times. Though smoothly told from several viewpoints, this is really Maddie's story. As one man breaks her heart and another steps in to mend it, little Maddie Miller learns the real meaning of a father's love.
Told with warmth, honesty and wonderful touches of humor, Maddie wraps herself around the reader's heart and doesn't let go until the last word. It is a timeless story that rings true for anyone who has struggled to make sense of growing up fatherless.
Watching this story develop over the years has been an exciting journey. As a fellow student and friend of Alice Mitchell, I'm thrilled to see her hard work and professionalism come to fruition. It's the berries!
~ Cindy Hiday, Author and Writing Instructor, www.cindyhiday.com
A Father's Heart, the tale of a young girl's dream set against the backdrop of the American Depression, touched my inner child. Everyone who has ever wished for their heart's desire will be able to relate to this experience.
Alice Mitchell deftly portrays the main character, Maddie Miller, drawing in the reader to empathize with the plight of the young heroine, as well as sharing the joy she encounters in the small blessings that come her way.
With each new turn of events, I awaited the outcome with hopeful expectation and found the ending inspiring and faith-building, a story I will long remember.
~ Laurel Thompson, Author, Falling Rain (PublishAmerica 2006)
I usually don't read books like A Father's Heart, but it came highly recommended by a friend. I am glad she did as it was enjoyable and provided a window of understanding into how my mother's years as a child must have been. She grew up in a similar situation in Portland, Oregon during the depression. The details of people's daily lives provided great insight. I was also impressed by seeing how the characters used applied faith, without preaching, and hard honest work to survive their challenges and situations.
~ William G. Graves, Cuernavaca, Mexico
A great many of my memories of Portland came to mind as I read A Father's Heart. Alice gives such a gentle unfolding of the story of Maddie and her family dealing with passages through experiences unique to that time and emotions 'timeless' to the human heart.
Thank you for sharing this family's journey. It's a keeper! I'll be reading it more than once and enjoying it all over again. Congratulations!
~ Martha Regan
In A Father's Heart, Alice Mitchell paints a picture of a family in need and how providence appears in unplanned ways. While Maddie Miller discovers herself and the truth about her family, circumstances converge to fulfill her needs. The reader is given a newfound sense of the Divine Hand and the way it works in our lives.
You cannot help but walk away from this book remembering situations in your own life when you were provided for without even knowing it. I highly recommend A Father's Heart to everyone, because it reaffirms the importance of family and faith.
~ Donnie Mangus
A Father's Heart captured my heart. Alice Mitchell reveals a sensitive tale of yearning, love and redemption woven into a slice of real history. Transported back to the early 1930s, I had a wonderful time sharing a year in the life of an endearing child who revealed her true grit while struggling to unravel the secret of her missing father.
This high spirited young lady reminded me time and again, that simple faith and prayer are powerful touchstones. A well-crafted book from start to finish; it carries a potent message with undercurrents that reach across time. Top notch!
~ Mercedes LaRocca
Maddie's story in A Father's Heart touched my own heart. You captured the characters so they came alive for me. I was especially fond of the grandmother whose gentle tactics and wisdom eased the challenges that Maddie faced. I felt the warmth in her grandmother's kitchen and hungered for the cobbler she served on the oilcloth-covered table.
Set in the era of the Great Depression, I related to eleven-year-old Maddie sitting on the front porch swing, realizing that not all neighbor men were fortunate to have a job, carry a "lunch bucket" and go "off to work." I related to her home-sewn dresses cut from patterns with "room to grow" and long stockings pinned to legs of underwear.
Along with Maddie, I thrilled as she saw for the first time the splendors of downtown Portland, the scenic wonders of Mt. Tabor's volcano and Mt. Hood, while Ruth experienced the Columbia Gorge, its waterfalls and mighty river. I pictured women with shopping bags riding the streetcar, children running to class at Vernon School and usherettes with flashlights in the Paramount Theater.
I rejoiced when Maddie's birthday surprise was a kitten, a black ball of fur. I applauded her courage as she faced hardships and disappointments. She expressed it best in a poem that she wrote: "God made roses to tell us that he's all around. Just smell the sweetness and you'll know."
~ Betty Williams, writer
Don't forget to peek inside or if you're ready to discover A Father's Heart, simply proceed to the bookstore.