Name: Hello, I’m Darcie Goodwin.
Parents: Arvin and Hilda Wright were my parents. My mother 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 household and garden chores.
Siblings: My little sister, Rosie, died of cholera at the same time as my mother. My father took my two little brothers to live at the Shaker village for a while after my mother died, but he then went back to get them and took them to Ohio with him. He came for me but I didn’t want to leave Granny Hatchell.
Places lived: I grew up on a farm in Kentucky and then lived with the Hatchells on a different farm. Finally my husband and I went to the Shaker village of Harmony Hill, Kentucky to escape a cholera epidemic in 1849.
Jobs: My father sent me to live with the Hatchells as a companion/helper to Granny Hatchell. You might think that was kind of a job although it felt more like being with family. My husband and I kept living with her after I married. In my time, most women are wives and mothers who worked alongside their husbands on farms. Not many paying jobs for us except as maids, seamstresses or maybe a schoolmarm.
Friends: Granny Hatchell was the best friend I could ever want. But then when I went to the Shaker village the three sisters who shared my sleeping room came to mean so much to me. Sister Helene, Sister Ellie, and Sister Genna were all very different but we became as close as natural born sisters.
Enemies: I don’t think I have any enemies. At first when I was at the Shaker Village I had some problems living the Shaker way and that caused some difficulties with Eldress Maria. However as time when along and after Anna Grace was born, Eldress Maria and I found a way to care for one another.
Dating, marriage: I married Walter after he helped me bury Pa Hatchell. Walter was a wonderful man. Strong and loving. I couldn’t have had a better husband.
Children: I have a sweet baby, Anna Grace. I love her so much. I loved her from the moment I knew I carried her in my womb, and I’m so thankful the Lord helped me after she was born.
What person do you most admire? 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, an ever ready help in times of trouble.
Overall outlook on life: I want to be optimistic and cheerful, but I’ve walked through some hard valleys where such an attitude is difficult to maintain. But you can’t curl up in a corner and give up on life. You have to keep going, keep trusting the Lord for comfort and help, 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, 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. I would have never met Walter. I wouldn’t have Anna Grace. I suppose it’s best not to play God and simply trust him to guide us through life.
How are you viewed by others? Those who are part of my life know I am far from perfect but they are still ready to love me. It is such a blessing to be loved.
Physical appearance: 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.
Eyes: A mixture of brown and green that sometimes looks golden.
Hair: Red and curly. I had a difficult time keeping my curly hair tucked away under my Shaker cap.
Voice: Not high and squeaky. Not low and growly. Just a normal voice.
Right- or left-handed? Right-handed.
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 should I try to describe myself, I suppose I would say a small woman with a big spirit who is willing to attempt almost anything.
Characteristics: I am a willing worker. I hope for the best. I love easily. I have known sorrow that has made me have empathy for others.
How much self-control do you have? A great deal. I lived with the Shakers for a while. They have many rules that require self-control.
Fears: I fear losing those I love, especially my sweet baby.
Books: The Bible is the best book for me. I have Granny Hatchell’s Bible and it is a great source of comfort to me. I do love reading other books as well but while I was with the Shakers, they didn’t allow reading of novels. You could only read the Bible and books written about their founder, Ann Lee.
What would a great gift for you be? The gift of love and a good home where I can mother my baby and any other children the Lord gives me. That’s all I need.
When are you 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 happy as long as I am with my family.
What makes you angry? I am angry if I see my friends or family mistreated. That doesn’t mean I don’t have flare ups of anger over silly things. I am a redhead after all. So if I draw a bucket of water and then trip over a cat, I won’t promise not to get cross.
What makes you sad? Losing my mother and little sister to cholera made me sad. So did losing Granny and Pa Hatchell. And I was devastated when I lost my husband, Walter in an accident.
What makes you laugh? My baby makes me laugh. Anna Grace is such a happy little girl.
Hopes and dreams: A happy family. What more could I hope for?
Biggest trauma: Losing my husband in a riverboat accident.
What do you care about most in the world? My family.
Do you have a secret? No. Well, I suppose I did have a secret in my early weeks with the Shakers after I discovered that I was carrying a baby. I had no idea how the Shakers would respond to that since they don’t believe men and women should live as man and wife. But that is a secret that usually can only be hidden for a short time.
What do you like best about the other main characters in your book? I love my Shaker sisters. They were so kind and supportive while I was carrying my baby and after she was born. I love Leatrice and admire her spirit and the way she loves her father. I also admire her father, Flynn, for the way he would have walked through fire for Leatrice.
What do you like least about the other main characters in your book? I prefer to concentrate on the positive. There are a few things about Mona that needs improvement, but the child has been through some difficult times.
If you could do one thing and succeed at it, what would it be: Raising my children to be strong and to know the Lord.
Most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you: I was often called on the carpet by Eldress Maria for times I did not properly remember the Shaker rules. Not exactly embarrassing since I cared nothing for learning the Shaker way, but such moments were uncomfortable at times.
Ann H. Gabhartis the bestselling and award-winning author of several Shaker novels—The Outsider, TheBeliever, The Seeker, The Blessed, The Gifted, and The Innocent—as well as historical novels—River to Redemption, These Healing Hills, Angel Sister, Love Comes Home, and more. Writing asA. H. Gabhart, she is also the author of the popular Hidden Springs Mysteries series. She has been a finalist for the ECPA Book of the Year and the Carol Awards, has won two Selah Awards for Love Comes Home, and won RWA’s Faith, Hope, and Love Award for These Healing Hills. Ann and her husband enjoy country life on a farm a mile from where she was born in rural Kentucky. Learn more at www.annhgabhart.com.
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