Where the Bells Still Ring: A Story of Faith and Community in a Small Southern Town (The Gracetown Novels)

Bitsy Mitchell has built her life around being the person everyone depends on. She keeps the nursery schedule straight, assures Reverend Goodheart that his sermons landed, and smooths small frictions before they turn into lasting wounds. Looking after people is what she does. In Gracetown, North Carolina, that kind of quiet care matters. Much of the town’s life gathers at First Methodist Church. Gwen’s newsletters grow longer and more cheerful every month. The handbell choir rehearses every Wednesday night. People show up with casseroles, concerns, and the quiet expectation that someone will notice if they don’t. But lately the life she helps hold together is beginning to loosen at the seams. Church attendance is thinning. Her husband, Jeffrey, has grown increasingly distant. And week after week, a seven-year-old girl named Eden waits in an empty room long after every other child has been picked up. Bitsy knows how to keep things running smoothly. She is good at it.