The Songbird of Hope Hill

By: Kim Vogel Sawyer

Narrated by: Stephanie Cozart, Christina Moore, Jonathan Todd Ross

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Birdie sings of God’s love. But does she believe He can forgive even her?

Desperate to simply survive, Birdie Clarkson was driven to a life in a house of ill repute. Now she longs only for escape. So when Reverend Isaiah Overly and his son, Ephraim, appear and offer a better life, she jumps at the chance.

Ignoring the furious raging of the madam, Birdie climbs into the back of the preacher’s wagon. The men take her to Hope Hill, the haven the reverend and his wife, Ophelia, founded so women like Birdie can be taught skills to help them rise above their pasts. Soon a resistant Birdie finds herself singing in the choir Ephraim leads at revival meetings, even though she’s certain she’s the last person who should be representing God.

Reverend Overly teaches that no one is irredeemable, but even as Ephraim is falling in love with her, Birdie remains convinced that she’s past saving. After all she’s been through, can she ever believe that God’s redemption wipes every soul clean? And can Ephraim convince her that God loves her more than she can grasp—and that he does, too?

Inspired by historical events.

©2024 Kim Vogel Sawyer (P)2024 Recorded Books

Trigger warning if you have unhealed trauma

I love stories of God‘s redemptive love which I am sure is the heart of this author.

As someone who was trafficked as a young teenager and became a person of faith a couple years later, what hurt me the very most was being told to let my past go, never look back or talk about it again. Because of that I never healed, and I had no idea that my unhealed trauma was calling the shots on my life for more than 30 years until I found the courage to open up about what I had gone through.

If someone has been raped or abused or forced into prostitution, the effects of that trauma do not magically go away. The fear and the memories and the self protection that we live with as a way to cope, can actually keep us from the love that has come to set us free. God’s love welcomes our honesty. All of it. Yes, the truth will set us free. But those things we keep hidden, keep us living in secret shame, and unhealed trauma.

Having found an amazing trauma counselor who I have worked with for several years and with her encouragement became a healing coach, I can tell you that opening up and telling my story and healing has been the most transformative thing I have ever done to actually be able to receive God’s love.

Forgiveness and Grace no matter your past

I loved this book and the narrator. It was very well done. Learning about the Grace of God and learning that it’s okay to forgive yourself for your mistakes and accept yourself as a new creation in Christ.