Christy

by Catherine Marshall

Christy, who lived a protected childhood in Asheville, NC., was nineteen years old when she answered God’s call through the  head of a missionary society to move to Cutter Gap, Tennessee, in the Great Smoky Mountains in 1912. Her job was to teach 67 mountain children who had not had steady opportunities for “book learning.” In fact, the one room school house held only a few much used texts for the students. Christy had to take on the additional duty of procuring books and other needed supplies as donations for her students.

In entering Cutter Gap by foot on a cold, snowy day that had finally thawed out enough for the postman to get through, Christy was crossing into another world with its own customs and unique phrases passed down from Scottish heritage. She was startled by the poverty, unsanitary living conditions, and firm adherence to superstitions. Christy was a witness to feuding and its deadly consequences, but she also discovered in the people kindness, grace, and a heart-felt joy in music.

Christy is the story of author Catherine Marshall’s mother as a teenage teacher. As historical fiction, it is more factual than imaginative. Marshall weaves the many tales she heard from her   mother into a story that pulls the reader into a culture struggling for survival in the Appalachian mountains. The descriptions in the book paint a picture of the beauty and the harshness of nature in the mountains. 

The characters in the book are well developed. One of my favorites is Miss Alice, a Quaker lady admired by all. She travels among three communities on horseback doing everything from administrative work to nursing the sick. She has deep spiritual insights born of experience. The author also reveals traumatic events in Miss Alice’s past that help her understand the tragedies the mountain folk have to cope with on a daily basis. If there ever was a nonjudgmental character, it would be Miss Alice.

This classic deserves a read or reread; a visit to Cutter Gap is one you will enjoy!

Rating: 5/5

Category: Historical Fiction, Christian, Classic

Publication:  1967—McGraw-Hill

Memorable Lines:

Surely one of the chief differences between the veteran teacher and the recruit must be that the experienced can never find enough time, whereas the ingénue struggles to fill the hours,  looks forward to dismissal time as a reprieve.

“…if we will let God, He can use even our disappointments, even our annoyances to bring us a blessing. There’s a practical way to start the process too: by thanking Him for whatever happens, no matter how disagreeable it seems.”

I realized something else…there was more to this gracious offer than met the eye. Fairlight Spencer was not just volunteering to do some washing and ironing for me; she was also holding out to me the gift of her friendship. Among the mountain people, this was the most cherished gift of all. It was a breakthrough of those walls of reserve that had so far seemed impenetrable.

“And as for religion being vague—well, it isn’t. It’s been the delight of my life to find God far more commonsense and practical than any human I know. The only time I ever find my dealing with God less than clear-cut is when I’m not being honest with Him. The fuzziness is always on my side not His.”