Fall is here. The trees will soon be turning color. That made me think about one of my books that has a definitely autumn scene cover. The Refuge is the last Shaker book I wrote. It’s been out a few years, but I posted about it today on my Facebook Shaker Wednesday.
Since that had the book on my mind, I decided to see if I’d written any posts about the story back when it was published. And I found a guest post I wrote for another blog — a character interview. Those are my very favorite posts to do when I’m sharing about a new book. The Refuge isn’t a fresh off the press book, but if you haven’t read it yet, it is still a new book to you. To be honest, when I read over and rewrote the character interview, I was reminded of how much I liked writing Darcie’s story and how there is so much focus on the relationships that could develop between the women who became sisters while living and working together at the Shaker villages.
I’m hoping you will like meeting Darcie in this character interview.
Tell us a little about yourself and your family.
My name is Darcie Goodwin. My mother and little sister, Rosie, died in the cholera epidemic of 1833 when I was nine. My father, burdened with grief, sent me to live with an older couple, the Hatchells. Granny Hatchell, not my birth grandmother but she became a grandmother of my heart, needed help with chores. My father took my two little brothers to live at the Shaker village, but after a couple of years, he went back for them to take them to Ohio with him. He came for me too, but I wanted to stay with Granny Hatchell.
You must have really loved Granny Hatchell. Have you always lived on a farm?
Yes, first with my parents and then with Granny and Pa Hatchell on their farm. After I married Walter we stayed with Granny Hatchell until she died. We had just found another place when cholera broke out in 1849. We went to the Shaker village of Harmony Hill because everybody said the Shakers never got cholera. We aimed to leave when the weather turned cold because folks never seem to get cholera in the winter.
How come you didn’t leave then when the trees started turning color?
Well, you see Walter went on a trading trip down the Mississippi River with some of the Shaker brothers. We were going to leave when he got back, but the steamboat boiler blew up and they say there was a terrible fire. I was told Walter worked to save some of the passengers and ended up not making it out of the fire. Since I had no idea where my father or brothers might be or how to find them, I had nowhere else to go. So, I stayed with the Shakers although I wasn’t sure what would happen when they found out I was with child. I hadn’t known that when we came to the Shakers, and I suppose it wouldn’t have mattered if Walter hadn’t gotten killed. We would have left the Shakers before they knew I was in the family way.
It sounds as if you wanted to keep that a secret from the Shakers. Why?
I did try to keep it secret after I discovered I was carrying a baby. I had no idea what the Shakers might do. You know they don’t believe men and women should live as man and wife. But carrying a baby can be a secret that usually can only be hidden for a short time. Still, I needed time to figure out what to do if they made me leave the village.
Did you like living with the Shakers? Were they good to you?
I didn’t mind so much. Everyone is expected to work, but I had always worked. That wasn’t a problem. And things might have been much worse for me except for the the three sisters who shared my sleeping room. From my very first days in the Shaker village, Sister Helene, Sister Ellie, and Sister Genna meant so much to me. We were all very different but we became as close as natural born sisters.
Of course I did have some problems living the Shaker way and that caused a few difficulties with Eldress Maria. However, as time went along, Eldress Maria and I found a way to care for one another.
When did you meet and marry your husband?
It was like this. Pa Hatchell went off fishing and sat down by the river and the Lord took him off to heaven. Walter happened to be passing by and helped me carry Pa Hatchell home. He stayed around to help Granny Hatchell and me on the farm. Walter was a wonderful man. Strong and loving. It wasn’t long before we fell in love and married. I couldn’t have had a better husband. I wish he could have known I was carrying his child before he died, but he went off on that trading trip before I had a chance to tell him.
We hope to find out about what happened with your baby, but first how would you describe yourself?
I don’t know that I should. I think it’s best to worry more about how we are inside than our outward appearance, but I guess I can give it a try. I am short in stature and slender. Granny Hatchell used to say I wasn’t as big as a minute but with the energy of a hound dog pup. I have brownish green eyes. My hair is red and curly. I had the awfulest time keeping every messy curl tucked out of sight under my Shaker cap.
You’ve been through some bad times in life. Does that make you see everything as dark and unhappy?
I have walked through some hard valleys where keeping a cheerful attitude isn’t easy. But I couldn’t curl up in a corner and give up on life. I had a baby growing inside me. I had to keep going. I simply continue to trust in the Lord and believe the sun will eventually shine through those dark clouds.
Do you like yourself?
That’s an odd question and not something I have ever considered. If I can believe the Lord loves me and I do, then that is enough.
What person have you most admired?
That would have to be Granny Hatchell who shared her faith with me and helped me know that even in our most desperate times the Lord walks along beside us, ready to help us in good times and bad.
What, if anything, would you like to change about your life?
I would, if I could, change the tragedies in my life. My mother and Rosie would have never died of cholera. But then, if that had not happened, I wouldn’t have gone to Granny Hatchell’s. If Pa Hatchell hadn’t died at the river, I would have never met Walter. I wouldn’t be carrying his baby. I suppose it’s best not to play God and simply trust him to guide us through life.
Do you have much self-control?
I do. A great deal. A person learns that living with the Shakers. Their many rules require self-control.
Do you have any fears?
I fear losing those I love, especially this baby I’ve loved since the first moment I knew he or she was forming in my womb.
Do you like books?
The Bible is the best book for me. I have Granny Hatchell’s Bible and it’s been a great comfort to me. I do love reading other books too, but the Shakers don’t allow reading of novels. You can only read the Bible and books written about their founder, Ann Lee.
Are you ever happy?
Happiness can be more an inner attitude instead of the result of outward things. The Bible tells us that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but sometimes it’s hard to have that happy heart when things aren’t going well in one’s life. But I am finding ways to be happy. My Shaker sisters help with with that. They are so kind and ready to help me even after they found out I was carrying my baby.
Are there others at the Shaker village that you like?
There’s young Leatrice and Mona, two children I know at the Shaker village. Leatrice has spirit and I like the way she loves her father, Flynn, who doesn’t live with the Shakers but comes to see Leatrice often. I think he would walk through fire for Leatrice. I’m not sure why Leatrice is here with the Shakers instead of with him, but perhaps it’s because her mother died last year. Mona, on the other hand, can be a puzzle. She’s always in trouble with the Shakers. Trouble she makes for herself. But still, there’s something about her that touches my heart.
Thank you for sharing about yourself and your story. We are eager to find out how things work out for you and your baby there at the Shaker village. And for your Shaker sisters too.
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I hope you enjoyed meeting Darcie if you haven’t met her yet in The Refuge. Or if you have already read her story, that you liked getting to know her again.
Tell you what. It’s been a while since I’ve given a book away. So, if you leave a comment about Darcie and her story on this post or comment on the next three posts, I’ll enter you in a drawing for a copy of The Refuge. Some of you may have already read the book, but autographed books make for great gifts to friends and family. Deadline to enter is midnight EST October 10, 2026. No hoops to jump through to enter. Just leave a comment. Oh, and be at least 18 years old.
Did you like meeting Darcie?
Comments 1
It sounds like a really interesting book.