More Things in Heaven and Earth

 Idgie Says:

Doc Hollywood meets James Herriot.  A lovely novel that had me tearing up in the first chapter and cracking up in the second.  I am so pleased to discover, that like the Herriot novels, this is the first in a series. This book is giving me warm fuzzy flashbacks to my reading days when I was younger.  It's a throwback book to a time when stories were gentle.

Mind you, these stories are not about animals, but people.  But the charm of the characters, the healing moments from the mundane to panic stricken emergencies, and the human interactions while dealing with injuries and illness are all there. 

The big difference is that Dr. Luke Bradford is NOT happy where he is.  He's there to pay off the school loans he took out to become a doctor.  He feels uncomfortable and out of place in the town and is immediately counting down the days until he can flee to the city. 

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the rest of the series.  

___________________________________________

More Things in Heaven and Earth
Author: Jeff High
Series: Watervalley Days

Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: NAL Trade (October 1, 2013)

Book Description:
Tucked away in the rolling Tennessee countryside is the charming community of Watervalley, whose inhabitants are quirky and captivating and more surprising than you might expect…

As an ambitious young doctor with a penchant for research, Luke Bradford never wanted to set up practice in a remote rural town. But to pay back his student loans and to fulfill a promise from his past, he heads for Watervalley, Tennessee—and immediately stumbles into one disaster after another.  Will he be labeled the town idiot before he’s even introduced as the new doctor?

Very quickly he faces some big challenges—from resuscitating a three-hundred-pound farmer who goes into cardiac arrest to not getting shot by a local misanthrope for trespassing. He expects the people of Watervalley to be simple, but finds his relationships with them are complicated, whether he’s interacting with his bossy but devout housekeeper, the attractive schoolteacher he consistently alienates, or the mysterious kid next door who climbs trees while wearing a bike helmet.

When a baffling flu epidemic hits Watervalley, Luke faces his ultimate test. Whether the community embraces him or not, it’s his responsibility to save them. And he’ll soon discover that while living in a small town may not be what he wants, it may be just what he needs…