A Way in the Wilderness

by Virginia C. Ferguson

13 year old Cady Coil and her family have been living on the outskirts of the Cherokee Nation in Georgia for six long years. It's 1838, the beginning of the forced removal west for the Cherokee people known as the Trail of Tears. Cady's father, a white trader, moved the family south to keep them safe from the unhinged Georgia militia soldiers who killed his oldest son. Since then Cady has not only had to contend with new neighbors, a new school, and hateful people, she has been forced to keep the family's secret--her mother was a Cherokee! Then one day she meets a new friend when she crosses the boundary and wonders into the Cherokee Nation in search of a good fishing hole. Now a whole new set of problems present themselves. Cady and her secret friend become close. She learns about her forgotten heritage and snatches of memory begin to surface. She has a grandfather who still lives in the nation, but she can't remember what he looks like or exactly where his cabin is. Curiosity and a sense of loyalty to her people causes her to keep crossing the border into the forbidden realm to fish with her secret friend, Bear Tracks. Then one day they come face to face with those dreaded militia soldiers, and in a split-second, Cady is forced to decide if she will keep her secret or stand with her friend in his darkest hour. Find out how God makes a way in the wilderness when Cady and Bear Tracks are thrown into a stockade prison and then put on the Trail of Tears.

175 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2020

About the author

Virginia C. Ferguson is a Christian author for children. She is a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature and Dalton State College. She has published poems, stories, and articles in various children's magazines. Tula's Path is her first novel for children.