by Kimberley Woodhouse
A couple of years ago, I was searching for ideas for my next series. As many of my readers know, I’m a big history lover and research is one of the things I enjoy most about being a writer. But I love finding those obscure places in history that not many writers have touched on and figuring out how God’s story played out during those times.
So, when one of my readers suggested I tackle the Bone Wars, my curiosity was piqued. After doing some research and reading Bone Wars by Tom Rea, I decided a series on women in paleontology was the ticket. (Thankfully my publishing house thought so, too!) I began scouring maps to find where many of the fossils found in the late 19th and early 20th century were located. That, my friends, is how I ended up in the middle-of-nowhere, Utah at Dinosaur National Monument, which is where my newest book, A Hope Unburied, is set.
Y’all, let me tell you—this place is magnificent.
Dinosaur National Monument was established as such in 1916. However, the quarry of dinosaur bones was found five years prior by a paleontologist by the name of Earl Douglass. Earl was a man of faith, whose passion for science and God’s creation fueled his passion for digging in the dirt. However, paleontology at that time was not for the faint of heart. One could go months and months without finding anything. Or finding dog, chicken, horse, or alligator skeletons. And while those skeletons were valuable contributions, the whole paleontology community was obsessed with finding dinosaurs.
In fact, Earl was on the verge of giving up digging in the area all together, when the couple he was staying with encouraged him to go out and dig one last time.
That day he found the beginning of eight protruding Apatosaurs tail bones protruding out of a divide in the ground. He called it “… a beautiful sight.” Earl’s find, to this day, is the most complete Apatosaurus skeleton ever unearthed. And with this discovery, Earl led the dig at what eventually became named the Carnegie Quarry, which in turn eventually became Dinosaur National Monument.
Through wonderful friends in Montana, I was fortunate enough to meet Earl’s granddaughter, Diane Douglass Iverson. She was kind enough to spend time with me, sharing stories of Earl, his adventures and his frustrations. But above all she shared his desire to preserve the magnificent bones he found in the earth, so generations could come and see them where they naturally lay. Her generosity didn’t stop there. She granted me permission to use quotes from Earl’s journals, pulled together in a book called Speak to the Earth and It Will Teach You. It was my pleasure to honor Earl and his contributions by sharing his quotes in all three books.
While Earl is not a main character in this third book, set at his monument, his fingerprints are everywhere. My hope is that in Eliza, Martha, and Anna, the three heroines of this trilogy, we all come to see the glory of God’s creation, even in the mysteries we can’t quite explain.
Even more so, I pray that like Eliza, we are willing to come to the Lord when we don’t know where we fit in or what we are called to do. But that we are willing to dig (see what I did there!) and walk and rejoice as we find our place in His story.
Writing their story has encouraged me in my own faith journey with the Lord. And I hope Eliza and Devin’s journey with each other, and the Lord encourages you in the same way.
About the Author
Kimberley Woodhouse is an award-winning, bestselling author of forty fiction and nonfiction books. In January 2008, Kimberley and her family were introduced to 15 million people when they were featured on ABC’s hit program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Since the ABC show aired, they have been featured on multiple national and local television and radio shows around the country. Kim and her incredible husband of thirty-plus years live in Colorado, where they play golf, spend time with their kids and grandbabies, and research the vibrant history around them.
About the Book
In the bustling world of paleontology in 1916, Eliza Mills defies societal expectations to pursue her passion. When Eliza gets the chance to dig up bones at a ranch with a dark history, it sparks a chain of events that will rock the very fabric of her carefully constructed world.
Did You Know?
According to the US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, loneliness has risen to epidemic proportions. Three out of five people report feeling significant loneliness every day. God designed us for deep connection both with Himself and others. In order to move beyond our loneliness, we need to take initiative.
Here are three practical ways to take initiative.
Hospitality. Invite someone to your home. Hospitality is a lost art in our fast-paced culture. Yet, hospitality was God’s idea. You don’t have to have a home decorated to perfection. Just start by inviting a friend over for coffee or tea.
Loyalty. Stay in relationship even when there are challenges. Too often spouses opt out of marriages, kids cut off their parents and friends break up their friendships. God values commitment. Make it your goal to cultivate long-term friendships.
Empathy. Offering empathy tells the other person that their feelings make sense to you. It takes humility to offer empathy because in order to understand someone else, we have to lay our own burdens aside. But, humble friends make the best friends.
By taking initiative, I believe we can move beyond our loneliness.
-Becky Harling, Cultivating Deeper Connections in a Lonely World
Why I LOVE My Local Christian Bookstore
“I absolutely love shopping at Christian bookstores! I enjoy supporting businesses that are supporting Christians to bring the Word of God to a hurting, lost world. I also love my local bookstore. I want to hold the book in my hand, feel the quality, and read a bit of the content as it makes a huge difference regarding where my hard-earned money will go, knowing it will make a difference in my life or the lives of others!”
-Lee Ann Mancini, Raising Kids to Follow Christ