When the Jessamine Grows

Viac o knihe

Rumors of an impending war spread throughout North Carolina, as the North and South find themselves in an irreconcilable conflict. Joetta McBride and her husband Ennis live a modest but content life on their small self-sufficient farm, raising their two sons, fifteen-year-old Henry and eleven-year-old Robert. They do not support the Confederacy's stance on slavery, viewing their family as neutral and believing the looming conflict does not concern them. This belief is a source of contention, even with Joetta's father-in-law, who recounts tales of heroic battles to the boys, eventually prompting Henry to run away to war one night. In a desperate plea, Joetta urges Ennis to bring him home. Weeks pass without news from either father or son, leaving Joetta to shoulder the burden of the farm. As the land is engulfed in war, she decides to open her home and farm to soldiers from both sides, leading to increasing conflicts with her community. One good deed nearly brings her family to ruin, yet Joetta remains steadfast in her principles, believing that they will survive the greatest trials yet to come in a divided nation.