Unbroken Hope by Michael Wells follows Barbara Jean Owen, a child whose life changes when drought destroys the Oklahoma farmland where her family once lived. Her father, Clay Stanley, travels west to California after hearing that farm work is available there. Barbara remains with her mother, Erma, while thousands of other displaced families also begin moving west in search of employment. When Erma decides to follow the same route toward California with her daughter, the journey puts Barbara into the vast movement of migrants traveling along the highways of the American West during the 1930s. After reaching California, Barbara grows up during the WWII years, rocked by continued family instability, where events beyond her control repeatedly affect where she lives, who is part of her daily world, and form the foundation of the life that follows.

Michael Wells's Unbroken Hope is absolutely packed with incredible period details, where history comes alive through everyday work that people had to do just to keep going. Erma prepares preserved pork sealed tightly inside a wooden keg. Later, a farm crew installs a windmill-driven well system that pumps water through buried galvanized pipe across the land. Wells doubles down with gorgeous, cinematic landscapes, with visual descriptions from Erma climbing onto a westbound freight train while shielding Barbara, to migrants beside a roadside grave with a traveling preacher. Barbara is someone we root for because of her intelligence and determination. So much of what she goes through is heartbreaking, and the author's no-holds-barred approach makes the ending so much sweeter. Well written and totally immersive, readers who enjoy American migration history, wartime fiction, and family-centered historical storytelling will love this. Very highly recommended.

Unbroken Hope by Michael Wells covers a period in history that was one of the toughest to survive, especially during the Depression, and then the Dust Bowl disaster brought on by poor farm management and a prolonged drought. The story starts in 1923 when Erma Venita married Lawrence Owen. Because there were complications with her pregnancies, Lawrence divorced Erma in 1933, but still had her on the side when he remarried. Erma is now pregnant, but Lawrence is not interested. Erma meets Clay Stanley in 1937, and he accepts Erma and her daughter Barbara Jean. The main characters in this story are Erma and her daughter, and the struggles they have to endure to make a life for themselves.

Unbroken Hope by Michael Wells is a story about the courage and strength of a woman who is determined to make a good life for herself and her child, no matter what obstacles are thrown at her. During Erma’s journey, she leads the reader through a maze of problems that she tries to overcome, but when she hears of the death of her friend Judy Burkey, which proves to be one tragedy too much, she shuts down. Barbara Jean, at 10, is then left to continue the journey that she and her mother started so many years ago. The reader will be in tears many times throughout the book and will be anxious to see what the ending will be like. The story draws to a conclusion that the reader will not be expecting. It will bring a smile to their face, but will leave questions, and will also allow the reader to use their own imagination to take this amazing story further. This is about endurance and the human spirit that does not give up and will always find a way to survive and keep moving forward. A most illuminating book. I enjoyed it and will definitely be reading it again.

I couldn't put it down. Had me from the very beginning ...all the way to the emotional climax. Must Read!