About the Book
From a Book Mother Reads is a fictional account of different people’s stories drawn from the memoirs of one family’s history. These accounts have been shared with this author from a letter written by the grandson of the main character in the book, Maggie Tinsbury. The setting of their story is in the mountainous valley of northwestern Virginia at the end of the Civil War. One of these home-steading families has now extended the family’s name into the eighth generation where on a mountain called Beechy, life for them began in the 1860’s.
Daniel and Lenore Summers had traveled far by wagon to central western Virginia prior to the end of the Civil War and acquired in trade several acres of mountainous farmland from Lenore’s brother for a horse and saddle. Generations that followed would often share with “tongue in cheek”, “What a horse and saddle that must have been”! If the truth were to be known, however, the real-life story of this business transaction reflected the undying, unselfish love of one sibling for another.The inspiration for From a Book Mother Reads would be drawn from the impact of this selfless love and become the theme of L. Michael Schoonover’s fourth book.
L. Michael would envision living in the northwestern part of Virginia in the 1860’s experiencing life as it might have been where transportation was by walking or horse and wagons as noted in the transcript of Jake Tinsbury’s letter. By recreating life as it may have existed then, L. Michael endeavored to rekindle the ancestral flames of adhering to meaningful values that not only sustained the people then but added an abundance of blessings as well. Consequently, would our adherence to these same values sustain and bless our generation as well?
From Jake Tinsbury’s letter, the reality of people’s dependence on God for survival would be deep-rooted and repeatedly noted throughout the book. It is noted that numerous entries and accounts are transcribed almost verbatim from his letter. The drawings in the book are representations of possible scenes and settings that
L. Michael concluded as being indicative of the scope and skills of early artists utilizing the materials at hand. Because of such, the lives and legacies of the people who settled and survived the rebirth of Stable Rock in the 1860’s are extended in these stories. May L. Michael’s readers especially take note in following the life of Maggie Tinsbury. Try to realize and remember the attributes highlighted by Maggie’s life as she anchors her family in the hope and provisional care of One, who blessed her family faithfully and frequently as detailed in From a Book Mother Reads.
Sower's Field by L. Michael Schoonover 