A powerful tribute to the power of story--and forgiveness! A young, unemployed newspaper reporter comes face to face with the reality of slavery when she takes a job interviewing former slaves with the Federal Writer's Project in the wake of the Great Depression.

Inspired by many true stories, the flash-back style first person perspective reads like a firsthand account of slavery (despite a few coincidences, etc. that seemed a bit far-fetched, reminding the reader it really was historical fiction).

The premise sounded interesting because it told the story of the Civil War and the Great Depression set in a city that I used to live. While Frankie’s story was more interesting, there were some scenes that really made uncomfortable reading. I found it unrealistic that she would forgive those who have hurt her, and this made her hardships seem like a fairytale ending. It just did not sit right with me. Rena’s story did not really interest me, and I found her character annoying. I did not believe she did not know what was going on with the African American community during the Jim Crow laws. It seemed very unrealistic. Overall, this novel is about forgiveness. However, it was not well-executed. It seemed very silly, unrealistic, and very sugary that attempts to ignore the harshness of reality.

The cover art captured my eye...however, the story line captivated my attention and did not let go until the final page. Heartwarming. Heart wrenching. Authentic. Well written. Five stars.

An emotionally gripping read of forgiveness and strength.

This is a fast pace read that doesn't take long for readers to be transported to the Hall Plantation in Tennessee, 1842 where Frankie Washington's story as a slave unfolds. I personally wish her story was given in full without any fast forward and gaps. I think this would have really pushed her story and emphasized the down to earth trials and challenges she went through so readers can really grasp the magnitude of what she endured. The story had a simple layout of Lorena going to interview Frankie, the timeline switches to the past, then back in modern time Lorena goes home to sleep where she reflects on the story, then the next day she's back at Frankie's and the cycle repeats. I felt Lorena's reflective monologue was very repetitive and overtime annoying. On the other hand, even thought I don't necessarily seek out Christian fiction books I really liked the seamless weave of biblical references and conversations of Christianity. The theme, why does God let bad things happen to good people, I feel is a universal question believers of God or not ask. This novel ever so slightly broaches the thought provoking topic.
Overall, Under the Tulip Tree is a enjoyable read that has the effect to touch anyone's heart.

On her sixteenth birthday, Lorena Leland and her family suffer the financial crash of the Depression. Her father, as a banker, was heavily involved in the losses. Thankfully their nearby grandmother is able to keep the family afloat in the intervening years. Her father deals poorly with the loss and turns to alcohol. Her mother takes a job as a seamstress and hopes for “Rena” to have a job to help the family, too.

The story continues seven years into the Depression when Rena is fortunate to land a job with the Federal Writers’ Project. Her assignment is to record the stories of a neighborhood of people who survived the slavery years. And, Rena’s first assignment is with Frankie Washington, a 101-year-old woman, with a deep story to tell.

Rena’s life has been quite sheltered and her trips to record the stories go against the wishes of her mother. Rena’s coworker and carpool driver helps her sort through the responsibilities of the writing job. He also helps her move forward at the end of the assignment.

I did think that Rena’s guilt in the story was much greater than expected. We are not responsible for things that long-ago ancestors did. We are responsible for our own actions and reactions.

I can absolutely say without a doubt this is one of the best books I've read this year.
The author pens a fictionalized story based upon true events/
Under The Tulip Tree takes place when the stock market crashes and along with this crash so does sixteen year old Lorena Leland's dreams of becoming a writer.
Seven years into the Great Depression Rena's father has taken to the bottle and she is an unemployed newspaper reporter.
"In 1935 President Roosevelt established the Federal Writer's Project as part of the Works Progress Administration,a New Deal program that put out-of-work writers,librarians,teachers,and others to work."
Rena jumps at the chance to do this writing narratives of those enslaved prior to the civil war.
One of the people she interviews is an elderly lady named Frankie,enslaved as a young child in Tennessee by the Hall family many years ago.
Hearing Frankie's story as she recalls her life growing up,her devastating injury and the civil war playing out and her true love being seriously injured. This time slip goes back and forth in time between the nineteen thirties and civil war times as Frankie recounts her life and the inequality of how she is treated . Despite the mental and physical abuse she has endured as a slave Frankie has a pure heart and as we are told to do she forgives those who have wronged her. Non forgivers just hold bitterness and have hardened hearts. Frankie is not like this. Frankie was so happy to have a way to tell her life's story , she has a voice that needs to heard and it will not be quieted.
When Rena discovers a connection she has with Frankie she is shocked,ashamed and afraid of how Frankie will react but knows she must tell her what she finds out because it is the right thing to do.
This book is heartbreaking and heart warming at the same time. The inequality of treatment towards people just because of the color of their skin is heartbreaking and it still goes on today.
Under The Tulip is on my list of one of the best books I have ever read!

Pub Date 08 Sep 2020
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

You need to see life in a different perspective in order to move forward.

Lorena Leland 16th birthday changed her life forever. She had big dreams and her 16th birthday party would be the catalyst of those dreams. When the stock market hit, her family lost their social standing and the wealth that comes with it. Her family changed over night. Seven years later, her father drinks to oblivion, her mother is working, and her oldest sister's marriage is falling apart. Lorena's life changes yet again when she accepts the New Deal project - the Federal Writer's Project. Reporters/writers are being hired out to interview men and women who survived slavery 70 years later. The government sees a need to bring these stories to light to learn from them and to change policy for the country to move forward.

Lorena is apprehensive about her new project. She knows about slavery but not the evils of slavery. How slaves were treated and abused. Her attitude begins to come to light when she meets Franki Washington. Upon meeting Lorena, Franki tells her that she has been waiting for her to tell her story.

With a dual time line, you get a wide range of emotions. Starting with Franki as a young child and being brutally beaten by the lady of the house. Her separation from her mother and losing each person she has loved. Lorena's emotions as she is faced with her own prejudices and her own families loss and prejudices.

Being a Christian Historical novel, I thought it had a nice aspect of faith. I enjoy real struggles of our sin. Lorena struggled with faith and who God is. Her questioning God on how can a loving God allow evil and suffering. Franki also struggled with faith until she became free. That is the spiritual lesson in their stories. Both women were in bondage of a different kind but the road to freedom was the same.

Another good aspect of Historical fiction is taking some actual accounts such as the request of the president to have these stories recorded. Another was the the time that the civil war ended and picking up the pieces of both the South and the North. The healing is still taking place because where there is no freedom, there is no healing. Highly recommend.

A Special Thank you to Tyndale Publishing House and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportuity to post an honest review.

The story begins with the stock market crash of 1929 when Rena Leland is about to celebrate her sixteen birthday. Because her father is a banker who mismanaged his assets, their lifestyle takes a dramatic turn for the worse.


For me, this beginning was slow. The real story gets going when we leap forward seven years as Rena, out of work at a newspaper office, takes a job with the WPA interviewing former slaves. (If you find the beginning slow, stick with it. You’ll be glad you did.) I knew about these slave narratives and have read a few of them. With all the stories and movies out there on slavery and the Civil War, readers might be tempted to think it’s all been done before. However, the author drew me in as Rena is engrossed in hearing the story of Frankie Washington, a woman who said God told her she couldn’t die until she told Rena her story. I was engrossed too. It kept me turning pages as the book is partly told in Frankie’s point of view from the past.

Uncomfortable at times (how can it not be?), readers are taken back to the horrors, the heartbreak, and the incredible endurance of those who lived through it. Frankie’s story takes place in Nashville before and during the Civil War. Frankie and other slaves are held in a contraband camp when the Union Army takes control of the city. She is allowed to work and be paid for washing officer’s clothing. During a battle she cares for injured soldiers. And then she is asked to do the same for the Confederate soldiers, something she struggles against, blaming them for all the pain and suffering she endured as a slave. How she deals with this and what she learns will also teach Rena some incredible lessons.

Rena feels regret for her family having owned slaves in the past, but she thinks all that is in the past. Then she realizes that between her mother objecting to the neighborhood she must visit for the interviews and her own anxious feelings when she travels there without a companion and is stared at, there is still a vast difference in the white/black culture and much mistrust on both sides. With the supporting characters of her grandmother and a handsome co-WPA worker, Rena learns things about the past that she never learned in school. More importantly, she learns about the life-long spiritual journey of the former slave, and this changes Rena’s outlook on her own life and on her family she previously had trouble tolerating, and also on the man who has been transporting her to Hell’s Half Acre to conduct the interviews. This transformation flows perfectly. It’s not rushed for the sake of the story or preachy at all. The ending held a surprising twist that will cause this story to stay in readers’ minds for a long time.

I really enjoyed this book, and having recently read Lisa Wingate’s The Book of Lost Friends, I found Under the Tulip Tree a fitting companion. Highly recommended.

Cindy Thomson, Novel PASTimes

Powerful story that focuses on a young woman who becomes an interviewer for the WPA during the 1930's. Lorena's life was forever changed by the stock market crash of 1929. She is able to find work as a reporter, but then her boss has to let her go. When she hears that the Works Progress Administration is hiring writers to conduct and transcribe interviews she is hopeful for the chance at a job - but when she finds out she would be interviewing former slaves she hesitates. Her mother will not approve and she's not sure she wants to venture into the seedier side of Nashville. But her family could really use the money, and she loves to write, so she finally agrees. That's how Lorena meets Frankie - a 101 year old woman who insists on telling Lorena her story in her own way. And what a story it is. From then on the reader gets to experience two stories - Frankie's as she tells of her life growing up on a nearby plantation and her experiences leading up to and throughout the Civil War--and Lorena's, as Frankie's story begins to change the way she views her own life.
As a reader, I really got sucked into this book. Especially when Frankie began to tell her story - the writing was really vivid and I could see and feel all that was going on as she was beaten and abused and struggled to come into her own. In some respects the way Lorena's story intersected with Frankie's and how everything worked out for them was a bit too convenient - but as Frankie points out, a Higher Power can make mysterious things happen in our lives. Lorena's struggle to come to terms with her own feelings and responsibility for the past and the present were well written and very believable.

I enjoyed this book. It is definitely a story needed in our current societal climate. I was drawn into Frankie's story and though horrible, it is just a fraction of how horrible life was for slaves. It is hard for us in today's society to imagine what it was actually like to be owned like any other property and not allowed any rights at all. The theme of forgiveness was touching. It is hard to fathom how someone who had been treated like Frankie was could forgive those who had treated her in such a horrific way. I also enjoyed the story line set during the Depression; though, it offers only a glimpse of how much of a struggle life was at the time for most Americans. I would like to know more about the growing relationship between Rena and Alden and how their lives grew over the years.

Duel timelines tell a heartfelt tale of forgiveness and faith, against the backdrop of a segregated South during the Great Depression.

Lorena Leland's world is upended by the stock market crash of 1929, and her privileged life begins to slowly unravel. Her dreams of becoming a famous writer suddenly put on the backburner. While her mother works to make ends meet, she takes a job with the WPA's Federal Writer's Project, interviewing former slaves about their experiences before and during the Civil War. There on assignment she meets Frankie Washington, a former slave over 100 years old, with a wealth of experiences and a powerful story to tell.

I loved every minute of this book, how it flowed easily between Rena's present day and Frankie's past, weaving a story of faith and forgiveness in the lives of two women. I liked how Rena was challenged by the project, how despite the fact that she had her own struggles and her life was far from perfect, it made her look outside of her own problems to the situations of others, making her take a closer look at her own life and beliefs.

This is a gripping read, and I didn't want to put it down, the characters were so well developed, they felt relatable and authentic. I loved how the characters were shown, and how just as much was said by what they didn't do, as by what they did. Captivating and poignant, this is a book that I didn't want to put down, and easy had me riveted to the page. I admired Frankie so much for her courage and bravery, as well as her honesty when recounting the things that she had lived through, as well as her hope. A satisfying read, memorable and full of faith. Highly recommend!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The book follows a young girl whose life was dramatically changed after the crash of the stock market. Once an influential, rich family now struggles to make living. This leads her to join the federal program for writers. Her task is interviewing former slaves to preserve their stories. The first slave she interviews, an old lady, has a big impact on the way she sees the world.

This book is beautifully written, sentences flow very nicely. The story is very interesting, it shows people from various backgrounds coming together and how each of them responds to this. This book is a historical fiction covering two interesting eras in american history, The Civil War and The Great Depression. However, in my opinion, this book is, above all, about relationships. Beautiful, complicated, messy relationships. Family relationships, relationships with strangers, friends relationships.

Amazing! Heart breaking! Tremendous story! Ms. Shocklee has written a story that has always been of great interest to me and definitely not because I agree with what happened to these people. I have the greatest respect for the men, women and children who lived, struggled, and somehow survived this time in history. Their ability to hang on to God even when they are being treated as less than human blows me away. This book takes us into the life of Lorena Leland at the time of the stock market crash in October of 1929. We not only see how this affected her family but some of the other things that happened at this time. When Rena gets a job for the FWP she has no idea how 1 woman will totally change her life. I loved this book and I'm so thankful to have read about it when I was doing a Scavenger hunt of all things!. This was a hunt that you were taken to different authors blogs to find a word for it but you also learned about the different authors. I found some great new to me ones and Ms. Shocklee is one of those. I love the way the story was told by Frankie to Rena and I was fully engaged in it. After finishing the book I did a Google search and found that the FWP was true that is talked about in the story and I am very interested in looking through the writing that was compiled. I don't know what else to say except this is a book that I have waited to be written so that I could read it, my curiosity to both sides of this time has been encouraged to find more truthful stories. Although I have to admit I'm not sure I will ever be able to understand how people can treat people so horribly, and how it can still continue almost 200 years later is beyond my understanding.
I received a free download of this book from Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

It is our choice “to be a small pebble on the path to the peaceful existence among people of different races and socioeconomic status.” And that’s what this story explores.

NYC, Tuesday, October 29, 1929 – the stock market has crashed.

Nashville, Tennessee. Eight hours earlier. Lorena ‘Rena’ Leland is celebrating her sixteenth-birthday today. An aspiring writer with a diary in her hand, she dreams of writing for one of the major magazines in NYC after college.

1936. Her family is broke and broken as many others. Many are homeless and starving. The government creates projects to provide jobs to those in most dire situations. The irony of those who govern at the state capitol is that their windows overlook the Hell’s Half Acre, where the poorest have lived for decades.

After seven years, without a degree and with lack of jobs, Rena takes a position as a writer interviewing former slaves to preserve their stories. She is assigned to Mrs. Washington, who lives at the Hell’s Half Acre.

Mrs. Washington is 101 years old. The God will not allow her to leave this world until she talks to Rena. Thus, she agrees to be interviewed as she’d rather leave the past in the past. There is something special about this character. There is so much warmth to her. The way she talks and is comfortable in her own skin. And makes Rena comfortable to ask any question as Rena is not comfortable in her own skin.

I enjoyed both characters very much. Rena knows that her hardship doesn’t compare to Frankie’s (Mrs. Washington) as she comes from privileged family, destitute at present time due to economic crash. She needs some encouragement while dealing with discouraging parents. She has the need to know the details of Frankie’s story. After what Frankie has revealed, how did she continue on with her life? Rena needs to sort out the confusion in her own life.

I also enjoyed Rena’s Grandma’s story very much. (Don’t want to give out too many details).

We’ve read those stories before. But this one gives a new perspective. A story like no other told before. Mrs. Washington revealing her story from a perspective of a child. A child, who doesn’t comprehend the injustice, who must obey the abuse. As an adult, going through a period of anger. Once, she reaches a peace inside her, it radiates from her. Her story is heart-wrenching, but it also gives hope. Despite the horrible injustice, there is so much warmness and beauty in this story.

The way the story flows between two timelines and the warmly developed characters make this story very engrossing. Sometimes I feel exhausted by dual-timeline narrative, but not here. It only makes the pages turn quicker. I relished the prose and the word choice. Beautifully woven story, which is a page-turner.

There is so much wisdom and honesty in this story that I truly hope it sells in record numbers. That’s the kind of book that I hope it reaches masses of people. It’s a perfect timing for such story.

What you take for granted today, tomorrow you might be very grateful for. And it’s not necessarily due to economics; it might be because you talked to another human being and got to know that person.

A timely, moving time slip novel with characters that were easy to engage with and a unique setting for the subject matter. I love the unpredictability of the plot and the steady, easy-to-follow storyline(s). With themes of friendship, faith, and forgiveness, this story carries an important message and how triumph often comes from tragedy.
Thank you to NetGalley for my complimentary ecopy.

Past and Present mixes rather nicely in this novel. The author has done a very nice job with this book. I enjoyed it very much.
The past can define us as to whom we become in the future. It can make us or break us if we let it.
I have never been more prouder than I was with Rena and Frankie.
These amazing women sure have some powerful stories to tell. I got lost in their stories. I found myself wanting to cry many times especially when Frankie was remembering her past. I really couldn't imagine going through what Frankie or Rena has and coming out much stronger and courageous for it.
Redemption and forgiveness are a part of this story too.
My favorite quote:
"Hatred is a powerful thing." " It can turn a person into something they ain't. It don't matter what color your skin is. "
Yes, sometimes it's hard to let go and it never really goes away but if we decide to accept God's love and forgive even if it's for yourself I'd like to think that we can be at peace. Hate and fear just eats a person up on the inside and out.
Forgiving isn't always easy which was why I admired Frankie that much more! I think my mouth dropped open when I found out how old she really was!
I was delighted to see that the author mentioned Fisk University in her novel. I had the honor of meeting someone from Fisk. He was a young guest pastor at the church I was going to at the time. I was so excited to meet him because I'd just got done reading Tamera Alexander's book. I felt like the timing couldn't have been more perfect!
This novel was so very good! This is like the fourth book this year that has spoken to my heart. Inside is a story that needs to be read especially because of 2020's events going on.
I highly recommend this book. It will speak to you in more ways than one. Trust me.
My thanks to Netgalley/Tyndale House for an ecopy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own.

I was unaware of this book until I heard of it from a friend who also loves HF. I requested an ARC of it and it was granted, to my delight.

This story follows a time period in American history we often wish to forget, but it is important that we don't. From the first page, I was intrigued, although I felt the prologue should have touched on WPA over the stock market crash, but that is just a small thing.

I quite enjoyed getting to know Rena and Frankie and watching their relationship develop in all of it's forms. One is young and lacks confidence while the other is older and sur of herself and the life she has had and is ready to move on. I was quite engrossed by Frankie's story of slavery times. It was heartbreaking, but also gave a glimpse of hope in certain parts as Frankie's journey progresses.

There were other dynamics and instances in this story I was interested and curious about, from Rena's background. Not wanting to spoil it for others, I will say no more than class shows quite a lot through this story.

I found the story flowed smoothly as did the writing along with it. I would suggest this to HR lovers. It's something new and in the end, endearing. I will warn of some graphic slavery and abuse scenes, but feel they have their rightful place in this story. Religion also shows through quite a lot in this book, but for someone who is not religious, but accepting of religions, it was manageable.

“Wasn’t that what life was about? To know and be known. To offer encouragement to others and share the burdens we all face. No matter the color of one’s skin, weren’t we all supposed to care about each other?“

Under the Tulip Tree is a powerful, timely story. Rena, the daughter of a former banker, and Frankie, a former slave, form an unlikely friendship in 1930s Nashville. We learn about Frankie’s life as a slave through Rena’s eyes, as Frankie tells her story to be published through the Federal Writers’ Project. Rena is forever changed by Frankie’s story and friendship, as she comes to terms with her own ignorance of the past and the shocking parts of her family’s history. The author does a beautiful job of weaving the 1930s and 1860s timelines together with poignant storytelling and compelling characters. This book is a powerful story of forgiveness and reconciliation, two things our world could use more of right now.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Lorena’s father bank president, had a comfortable lifestyle and was well received in social circles before the market took a dive. Lorena Leland and her family were forever changed by the stock market crash in 1929. Little did Lorena know that taking a job with the FWP (Federal Writers’ Project) would rock her world even more than it had in the last seven years of the Great Depression.

It was remarkable to find out what the Federal Writer’s Project was and how the author based her narrative on it. It was astounding to read that the President deemed slaves’ stories were important to preserve for future generations. I was fascinated to learn about history through Lorena’s (nicknamed Rena) eyes as she meets 101-year-old Frankie Washington, born a slave and has seen a lot in her 101 years.

Both women were facing their fears Rena Leland, going to a scary part of town to interview a black woman in her home. Frankie Washington had to trust a white woman, welcome her inside and divulge horrific things she had not thought about for years. Could she share these events? Would this woman write what Frankie says or would they change it when things get to hard to hear?

Rena sits down next to Frankie. She is stunned by her courage and trust to share heartaches, lessons, and joys intertwined in hard-tragic times. Frankie had been prompted by the Lord to open her home to Rena, make her feel welcome, as she shared, she let God do the rest.

These women become fast friends and Rena desired to hear more of Frankie’s story. She could not just ask the scripted few questions and go onto the next person. Rena had to know it all. I was on the end of my seat wanting to know it all too.

I liked what the author says in her note to readers, “I first learned of the slave narratives, as they’re called, while researching slavery in Texas. Drawn to the word-for-word and often heart-wrenching telling of life in bondage, I wanted to learn more about the narratives and how they came about.”

The author weaves an incredible story that has you hearing Frankie’s story at the feet of these two women. The author says…”My hope is that Frankie and Rena’s story of friendship, love, and forgiveness honors those whose lives now fill the pages of history.”

Oh, I was blown away by the depth of this story, it’s unforgettable characters, its surprises and the natural spiritual thread. This story would work well for your next book club pick. It is a rich story that you’ll be thinking about long after you close the book. This is the first book I’ve read by this author it won’t be the last.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org

I’m going to keep this review short and sweet.

A huge thank you to Tyndale House and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this wonderful book.

I really liked Under the Tulip Tree. I feel as though it is very well written and the story flowed nicely. It read fast and the pacing was perfect. None of the scenes or events in this book dragged for me at all.

Like a lot of historical fiction that I read it was formatted with a dual timeline and dual perspectives. I was equally invested in the present day ( 1930s ) timeline and the past ( 1860s ) .

This book deals heavily with slavery which I have read numerous novels pertaining to the subject and time period but it is set in Nashville. When I think of the civil war and slavery my mind automatically goes to the southern states along the East Coast. I haven’t given much thought to Texas or Tennessee. I’m glad to have learned a bit more about the events during and after the war in that area.

Under the Tulip Tree is Christian Historical Fiction and I really appreciated some of the themes it presented. Forgiveness was a big one and finding it within your heart to make peace with God and those around you that have hurt you in the past. That being said- this book can be read by anyone. There is scripture and Christian principles but it is well written and not overly “preachy”.

I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.