When the small, Southern town of Simpsonville, Alabama, loses its favorite doctor, the ladies in town give little thought to his ailing widow, Miss Adie, who also served as his trusted nurse and knew all too well the longtime secrets these women have kept hidden. When Miss Adie's faithful caretaker, Eula, has an idea for keeping her devoted Miss Adie's dwindling health and memory active again-writing a book about the history of the town and its people-the local Ladies Mission Society, believing Miss Adie is writing about their secrets to get revenge on them for rejecting her, starts to take action before their lives are destroyed.
With unique and engaging voices, each woman of the Society personally recounts her deepest secret she fears will be exposed in the book. Together, these stories are vignettes of the past that touch on difficult subjects, recalling pain and betrayal as well as moving scenes of rekindled relationships and the importance of friends, family, and faith in the women's lives, past and present.
Filled with poignancy, charm, and a bit of mystery-not to mention some fine Southern cooking-Secrets of the Ladies Mission Society will have readers cheering through tears as it comes to its extraordinary conclusion.
Industry Reviews
"Laurie Rothrock Dick's wonderful first novel, Secrets of the Ladies Mission Society, sheds a soft but penetrating light not only on individual lives but on the inner workings of a culture. At times ironic and hysterically funny, at others brutal and sere, she throws off the stereotype of our conventional wisdom concerning the South and replaces this with the complexity of the heart-felt truth. I loved this book. You will too." -Deborah Johnson, author of The Secret of Magic and The Air Between Us