The Trees of Mamre: A Difficult Blessing

One night in the early 1800s, the peace of a cotton plantation is shattered by screams. Flames are climbing the walls of a manor near Chesapeake Bay, where eleven-year-old Emily Spencer lives with her doting parents. Emily's parents are injured in their attempt to rescue her from the fire. Unable to care for their daughter, the Spencers set in motion the events that will change Emily's life forever; they ask friends to find their estranged son, Edward, so that he may take care of Emily.

Just before the fire, Edward had asked the lovely Providence Montgomery to join and marry him in the Northwest Territory, and the young woman decides to take Emily with her on an arduous journey into the unknown. Emily's nanny urges her son Andy, who was born into slavery, to accompany them, and as oxen-drawn wagons pull them away from everything they hold dear, the three discover a land where danger lurks and where plans take on a life of their own.

Torn between poignant memories and the terror of an unexpected encounter, Emily strikes a bargain with God-a bargain that later haunts her. Who can help her find the direction she so desperately seeks?

In this frontier of melting snows and mysterious forests, author Shirley Emmett weaves a lively tale of hope, dreams, and a literal and figurative journey of faith.