Sweetwater Run
by Jan Watson

List Price: $12.99
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781414323855
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

In 1891 in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, two young women stand at a crossroads. Both are protégées of the same mentor, Copper Brown, yet they couldn’t be more different. Darcy Whitt falls in love with the town’s handsome yet unscrupulous attorney who plots to take not only Darcy’s land but that of her sister as well. Meanwhile, her beautiful sister-in-law, Cara Whitt, suddenly finds herself alone and afraid, living in a rickety cabin on the backside of nowhere. As they struggle with the realities of life, both women learn to rely on their faith above all else.

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1. The opening scene in Sweetwater Run is the arrest of Dimmert Whitt. Do you think he was treated unjustly? Would this be as likely to happen in today’s judicial system?

2. How did the arrest of her husband affect Cara Whitt?

3. Cara turns to Bible study and prayer to help her deal with her stress-induced hypochondria. Does this work for Cara? Have you ever dealt with an internal struggle in this way?

4. If you have read Torrent Falls, were you surprised that Darcy Whitt became a self-supporting woman? Would that have been unusual for that time and place?

5. Dance Shelton has obvious mental health issues. What might her diagnosis be if her story played out today?

6. Is Ace Shelton an admirable figure in this book? What did you think of the relationship between Ace and Dance?

7. Henry Thomas is portrayed as a selfish, greedy man. Why do you think Henry became that way? Did you see any redeeming qualities in him prior to his conversion?

8. Have you ever had a brief spiritual encounter with another person that affected you as deeply as Henry’s with old man Follett?

9. Did you believe the assault on Ace Shelton by Henry Thomas was an accident? What did Ace do that triggered Henry’s violent response? Or was Ace an innocent victim?

10. Why is Cara’s friendship with Big Boy Randall important to the book?

11. Was Darcy wrong to follow her heart and her man to Chicago? Was her love for Henry a true love? Was Henry Thomas a better man because of Darcy?

12. What impact did the life of Fairy Mae Whitt have on the other women in Sweetwater Run?

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