With Christy Award news in the air, I thought now might be a good time to talk about the book for which the awards are named.

My introduction to it came in my girlhood when my sister and mom read it. Later, my mom sent me (and I read) The Helper, also by Marshall. And I loved the movie, "A Man Called Peter," about the author's husband.

But my personal involvement with the book itself started only six years ago after I received some good news: Lethal Harvest had made the Christy Award finals in the mystery/suspense category. Never mind that our first novel was up against books by T. Davis Bunn (who made the finals in more than one category) and James Scott Bell (who won). We made the cut! On the night of the fancy-schmancy awards banquet in Atlanta, each finalist received a lovely medallion and a copy of the commemorative edition of Christy by Catherine Marshall.

I brought the book home, stuck it on my shelf, and forgot about it. Until this spring. That's when Edify Media sent me a review copy of the "Christy" video. We watched it as a family and really enjoyed it, so I decided to give the book a read.

But, to be honest, I expected Polyanna.

I was wrong.

In Christy (based on the truelife experience of Marshall's mother), nineteen-year-old, cultured Christy Huddleston leaves home to teach in a one-room schoolhouse in the Smokies. Talk about culture shock. Christy comes to know and care for the mountain people in all their wildness, pride, abject poverty and dark superstitions. Oh, yes, and their appreciation for beauty and truth, as well.

In her primitive setting, Christy frequently finds her faith tested, and complicating her life is the love of two men. The biggest surprise: the author explores the trauma of rape, a sensible view of sex, and doesn't back away from earthy subjects.

Only after I read the book did I learn it has sold millions of copies and topped literary guild selection lists since its release forty years ago. The Collectors Edition offers some special treats: sixteen-plus pages of memorabilia from the Catherine Marshall estate, including original manuscript notes, letters, character sketches, journal passages, and--my favorite--photographs.

The biggest surprise to me: the literary quality. Marshall nailed character descriptions and emotions. I found myself grabbing my writer's notebook and taking notes constantly as I learned from her masterful pen.

This book isn't one to read to the first-graders, but this grown-up found it immensely satisfying.