The Homeplace

Singing River, Book 1

By: Gilbert Morris

Narrated by: Judith West

As the year 1928 begins, 14-year-old Lanie Belle Freeman of Fairhope, Arkansas, has bright hopes for the future. Her father has launched a new business, and her mother is expecting her fifth baby. Lanie has dreams of going to college and being a writer. Then tragedy strikes.©2005 Gilbert Morris (P)2008 Zondervan

Slow to start. But hang in there. It’s worth it

I’m from the Deep South. The heart of Dixie guess people in Arkansas talk differently Almost quit book cause of annoying hillbilly southern
Redneck twang but so glad I didn’t. Wonderful job of character development. I laughed out loud frequently great story line. Looking forward to book 2

Hard Times, Family, Community & Faith in Arkansas

This is one of the best stories of the depression era in America that I’ve read/listened to. When Lanie Freeman’s mama gives birth to her fifth child, she doesn’t survive the birth . . . leaving 14-year-old, Lanie to care for her four younger siblings while her daddy goes off to work in the logging business he started with a loan from the bank. When the stock market fails in 1929, and he struggles to make the payments on his loan, the family fears losing their farm and home. Then her daddy is accused of a murder and put in jail. The only person who knows the truth flees the state, leaving the Forrest Freeman in prison and his daughter, Lanie to care for the farm and children. But what happens next is a GOD THING. The community, both colored and white, rally round the children, helping them in every way they can. The combined prayer meetings melted my heart. Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal, black and white, praying all night for the family until God answers. One greedy man at the bank continually tries to get the bank to foreclose on the farm, so he can buy it himself. He tries every single means he can. When social services try to split up the family, it seems hopeless. But one more prayer meeting, one more petition to God ensues. This is a tale of great hardship, such as Americans nowadays cannot fathom. One which needs to be heard by all generations, so the blessings we have in this current time will not be taken for granted, so teenagers can get an inkling that hard work and fortitude were required of the very young in the history of this great nation in order to merely survive. Bravo, to Gilbert Morris for writing a faith-based book with lessons for us all.

Enjoyed very much.

I could visualize as the narrator read. this was a nice change from my usual mystery/crime books.

So so good!!

I had long ago given up on Christian fiction being interesting, but this book was SO GOOD! Judith West did an excellent job narrating. I loved the time the book was set in, and Morris did an excellent job showing the story, not just telling it. I was never bored and that’s saying something as I am a very picky avid reader.

Fantastic story!

At the beginning of this story I really thought it was going to be to depressing to listen to. So much tragedy. But I am so glad I stayed with it. Wonderful story and I loved the language used. Fantastic narrator. I am now enjoying the second book in this series.

love Gilbert Morris books

thoroughly enjoy Gilbert Morris' books. compelling story teller. historical references really help to set the scenes.

Skip this one

If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. It will even go wrong if it's improbable. It's like a sorry soap opera. You can skip ahead 15 minutes in the story and have missed nothing, except for possibly another bleak and improbable event. Sometimes the narrator can make a poor story better, but in this case they're well suited.