Rooted: Hands from Willie's Past Unearth His Future

by Kimberly Morrison, Marilyn Anderson (Editor)

One chance encounter can change your life forever, which is exactly what Willie Verns will soon discover! He had chosen a life of solitude. Being deprived of a family by the age of two, growing up at Saint Carmel Home for Boys had taught him one thing— he didn’t need anyone. Willie’s deep-seated desire to rebuild the business his parents had created before they were ripped away from him had led to a lucrative farming business. But his self-contained world is about to be shaken. His one small act of kindness to a quiet little boy sends Willie into a tailspin of self-discovery he wasn’t ready to take. He’s left questioning if his life had really been marked by injustice as he’d always believed, or if someone had been there all along, trying to make him recognize what is actually important. Will he stay the course of rigidly excluding others, or will he be awakened to the potential of opening his heart? The choice is his. Rooted is a powerful portrayal of faith, resilience, and love that inspires hope in the heart and encourages the soul.

188 pages, Paperback

Published October 20, 2020

Reviews

[Crystal Cope · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Rooted: Hands From Willie’s Past Unearth His Future”
by Kimberly Morrison

I couldn’t put it down! Willy evokes a range of emotions in each step of his journey from a turbulent boyhood. Orphaned at two and raised at Saint Carmel Home for Boys had taught Willy one thing - he didn’t need anyone. Discovering his family roots as a worm farmer, Willy finds his first taste of pride and success. A cruel betrayal destroys that newfound taste of happiness and sees Willy truly on his own at a young age when he is forced to leave his home at Saint Carmel and the Sisters who have cared for him all these years. Taking what he earned, Willy puts his dreams in place and sees them grow into a successful farming enterprise. His next challenge comes in the form of a young boy named Levi. Through Levi, Willy learns that while he can do it alone, opening his heart to others sends roots deeper and brings more love than a heart could imagine. In addition he meets Addi, a caring teacher and young woman of faith. Addi's strength and deep roots of faith has helped her overcome some bad decisions and situations in her own life. She teaches Willy that some of the greatest strength comes from setting deep roots in faith, in your home and in your community. That while it's tough to leave things in God's hands and resist grabbing the reins from time to time, trusting in His word and the promise that comes from the strong roots of faith.
By taking readers through the hardships and pain in the lives of people, Ms. Morrison shows us how we get through life. This heartwarming book is a great read and a great gift for the readers in your life. I’m looking forward to sharing more of Willy’s journey. — C. Cope

[Debbie Chatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book was so good and so impactful that 5 stars don’t seem like enough. Not only did Willies story tug at my heart strings, I felt like I was learning life lessons right along with him. My biggest takeaways are the importance of roots in our lives and our legacy. , and this is not just our physical roots not even more importantly our mental and spiritual roots. This book challenged me to consider whether I was tending the soul of my mind as often as I should rather than waiting too late and how important it is to have the deep roots into the right soil. And I was encouraged at how o can use my life to impact others in a positive way. We cross paths with others everyday, but are we making a difference in their lives. And to make a difference is deeper than the words we say. In fact it was a quiet backward boy that turned Willies life around. This book also highlighted the fact that we are made for community. It can be so easy to think we don’t need other people until we realize how much richer are lives are with others. I also loved that the author included a short author’s addendum at the end to help the reader pull life application from the story. I had never read a book that did that before and it was awesome. All in all, I highly recommend this book. It will pull at your heart strings but also lead to self reflection about life in general.