About The Book

New edition of Catherine Marshall’s inspirational classic!

The train taking nineteen-year-old teacher Christy Huddleston from her home in Asheville, North Carolina, might as well be transporting her to another world. The Smoky Mountain community of Cutter Gap feels suspended in time, trapped by poverty, superstitions, and century-old traditions.

But as Christy struggles to find acceptance in her new home, some see her – and her one-room school – as a threat to their way of life. Her faith is challenged and her heart is torn between two strong men with conflicting views about how to care for the families of the Cove.

Yearning to make a difference, will Christy’s determination and devotion be enough?

Learn more, download a free map of Cutter Gap, and purchase a copy

My Review

It has been quite some time since I took this journey to Cutter Gap with new teacher Christy. As a teacher for many years, I finally picked up a copy after hearing how so many of my colleagues were positively influenced by this classic story. I agree, it is a marvelous accounting of turn of the century life and the struggles of the impoverished mountain folk. It would be so easy to leave the story in the past, a tale for an earlier time, if our society didn’t still mirror the struggles faced by the children and parents of Cutter Gap. It was refreshing to read it through new eyes opened by experience. I felt the same pity and despair, but I felt a new empowering, and humble need to care for the “Cutter Gap” people in my area. It is amazing that a tale from so long ago can still inspire hope and act at a catalyst for change. Let’s all learn along with Christy and apply the message of social awareness and apathy and see if we can make a change in the world for the better.