The Little Town of Hope

By

Joan Nicholes

Introduction

Carly Thornton is well-known around the world because of her way with words and her voice. She is a singer with a voice of velvet. Anyone who hears her falls instantly in love with her. She spent years building a successful career singing and writing children's books in her spare time. And just when Carly thought she had it all, tragedy strikes.

During a terrible winter storm just weeks before Christmas, Carly loses her husband and son in a tragic accident. She is left all alone to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. She blames herself for the deaths of her husband and son. With great remorse she estranges herself from her friends, family and all those who love and care for her. She stumbles onto a path of self-destruction.

After several months of heavy drinking, Carly is in a car crash that leaves her paralyzed. The doctors say she will never walk again. She spends a year in a rehabilitation facility trying to come to terms with her loss, her grief, and her guilt. But nothing seems to help.

With the help of physical therapists and determination, Carly learns to walk on her own once again. At last, she is released from the rehabilitation facility. Carly must make difficult choices in her personal life as well as her career. Some how she finds herself in a little town of Hope, Vermont. What she thought she would find was peace, anonymity, and healing. But what she finds is a small, poor town full of hate and anger. A town that is divided after a hunting accident that killed a young boy.

No one wants to be Carly's friend. They call her bossy, interfering and a busybody. All she wants is to build a new life. What she finds herself doing is falling into the same old feelings of self-pity and despair.

And the last thing Carly ever expected was to have some sadistic magazine writer named Slade following her around town. Slade is a writer that thrives on scandal. He has ruined many people's lives with his stories. And he wants Carly's story. But she's unwilling and uncooperative. They are constantly at odds and their constant bickering brings her deeper and deeper into depression.

Just when she is sure there is no way out, a stranger appears to rescue her. He is a preacher and saves her life one wintery night when she leaves a bar after a drunken quarrel and collapses in a snow bank. Slowly the preacher works to restore Carly's faith. From some where he reaches deep into her soul and teaches her how to love once again.

She begins to rebuild her life and the town she lives in. The little town of Hope, Vermont. She starts building a church for the preacher. She commissions the help of two sworn enemies who are forced to work side by side every day. Soon their hatred for one another turns to friendship all because of the love of one woman. Carly.

Soon she is transforming the whole town. Dreams are coming to life. People begin to care for one another and a community is built. In the deepest, darkest times of their lives, they are no longer alone. They have each other.

And just when Carly believes everything is just as God has planned it, she discovers she has inoperable cancer. She hides the truth from all those she has come to love and admire.

With less than a year to live, Carly brings the town together once again. She devises a plan to put the poor town of Hope on the map and to change the lives of all who live there.

On Christmas Eve Carly plans one last concert performance with her former band members. Word begins to travel and people from all over come to hear her sing. But the night is more than just a concert. Carly finally reveals the truth about her past.