Francine Rivers, author of Redeeming Love, one of the classic works of Christian fiction that has held a spot on the Christian Bestseller Association’s top-selling titles, was a romance writer for a decade before encountering Christ and turning to Christian fiction. She has written numerous novels since then with Christian themes and won many accolades and awards.

Her Mother’s Hope is the first of a two part series that is a semi-autobiographical history of her mother’s family covering several generations. A rift between her mother and her grandmother that was never known to be mended was the idea that Francine has explored in the first book of Marta’s Legacy. Many miles of geography are covered as Marta travels from her home in Switzerland, escaping a hard, abusive father, to London where she cares for Lady Daisy, a lonely but loving woman who encourages Marta to do more with life by moving to Canada, a land of promise. Here she meets and marries a devoted man and begins her family. Her first child is a healthy son, Bernhard. Her second, a small daughter, Hildemara Rose, who fights to live. This begins the story of Marta’s struggle to raise Hildemara in a way that will help her be strong and independent. She sees her own weak, late sister in Hildemara and fears her daughter may come to the same end that Elise did. How can efforts to teach and disciple become so complicated that love is hidden? We leave Hildemara and Marta at the end of Her Mother’s Hope at a crossroads. The story continues in Her Daughter’s Dream, now available at Manhattan Public Library.