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January 2026 Book Review: The Great Forgotten
Book by: Kellie Murphy
Review by: Dr. Wendy Hooper-Meletes, Ed.D., owner of Litchfield Books
One war, two loves and a lifetime to remember is set in 1918 in Nashville Tennessee, where World War II had left its ferocious imprint like it had on few cities. As the war in Germany drones on, patriotism swells at home with celebrations, music, and dancing. Now in truth, innumerable novels have been written about the war, and it is a challenge for any writer to come up with anything new to write about that time. Hopefully Kellie solved that challenge by centering her tale on five very different characters and for what author Kellie believes would be a unique purpose.
They are one train engineer, one porter, one salesman, one farmer, and one thief. Inspired by a true event, the great train wreck near Nashville in 1918 took over 100 lives due to human error. This horrific disaster is the back drop for a gripping tale of five men whose lives were intertwined that fateful July day and the ripple effect of this little-known tragedy.
When Ginny Campbell finds an abandoned steamer trunk filled with memorabilia and the one woman’s name who knew them all she sets out to uncover the mystery. The five men are quite different from one another, and, in peaceful times, may never have even met. Yet they come together to survive a horrific time in history, that alone, they probably never stood a chance of withstanding. Sitting down with a writing journal one cold winter’s eve it was Ginny’s intent to show that people from all different backgrounds can form the unlikeliest and most unbreakable bonds of faith and friendship when circumstances like a world war have carved the human element out of humanity.
War is a great equalizer of the lives of those it impacts. It does not care about wealth, power or position. It does not care about familial ties. A war’s goal is only to destroy people and all that they have. It can be said that we are at our best during the worst of times, that one crowning attribute, the power of love can leave the destructive weapons of war helpless.
Come meet award winning author Kellie Murphy and celebrate her book launch for this book on Friday, February 6, 2026 at Caffe Piccolo in Pawleys Island, SC.
For tickets: www.litchfieldbooks.com/events
