Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon (2007, Hardcover)

I was so happy to hear that Jan Karon was writing a book about Father Tim's earlier years....his youth and his calling and the people he grew up with in his home town of Holly Springs!

Father Tim and his wife Cynthia are enjoying retirement in Mitford, North Carolina, when he receives a mysterious letter postmarked from his home town with only two words written inside....."Come Home." It has been 38 years since Father Tim has been back to Holly Springs, Mississippi, but the letter has stirred many memories for him and so he goes home again. The story moves along at its own pace as you get to know the people from his home town. It is both a satisfying and fulfilling story. The book goes back and forth so we know about Father Tim's childhood and youth and the people who became part of his life. Father Tim ties up some loose ends along the way and I think that is what Ms. Karon intended. You will meet the first love of his life and also learn why there was so much friction between he and his father and why his mother held a great sadness. At the end of the story, Father Tim learns the purpose behind the letter, all emotions will come to the fore front. I don't want to give the ending away, but a woman named Peggy will bring this book to it's conclusion as she pours her heart out to Father Tim. She is the reason he is "home again" and you'll learn why this is the place he needed to be to find the answers he had been seeking.

Ms. Karon is marvelous as a storyteller. I really missed the Father Ted series since she went on to write children's books, but I'm so glad to see this one back!