Laurel's Choices

Will Laurel Worth be able to survive the alien environment into which she and her young family have moved? As a successful teacher with nurse training and a well-known speaker for social issues such as women’s right to vote, Laurel—the beautiful, auburn-haired daughter of an esteemed professor—has been a public figure most of her adult life. Justin, college educated and already a successful professional photographer, is an adventurer at heart. But when Justin impulsively takes a job supervising a logging crew in the mountains of western North Carolina, he and Laurel find themselves in a primitive, sometimes hostile environment. The Worths’ new home is a two-room, rough-hewn shack in an isolated logging camp. Laurel’s challenges include a near-fatal rescue in a turbulent river, treating diphtheria and snake bites, a panther attack, endless work, and Justin’s skirmishes with outlaws and bootleggers. But she is strengthened by her faith, and Laurel learns to appreciate and love the mountain people. After they move from the logging camp, Laurel is hired to go into remote areas to teach adult literacy, where she immediately encounters more serious problems. Justin joins her in her faith and efforts to bring hope and a better life to these people. As the five Worth children grow to adulthood, their big house resounds with the presence of young people—for first-aid classes, music, ball games, and parties—until World War II calls the young men to fight for their country. Laurel’s Choices is a family saga spanning the years from 1920 to 1950. Set against the backdrop of national and international historical events, this spirited, patriotic book showcases the indomitable American spirit...and the powerful truth that it is not our circumstances but our choices that determine who we become.