The Valley of Baca: a Record of Suffering and Triumph


Read by TriciaG

(3.8 stars; 3 reviews)

Jennie Smith was a 19th-Century Job. At 15 years old, her father's business and finances failed, and he later died of illness, leaving her family poor and struggling. Added to this, she developed Typhoid Fever, which damaged her spine. Shortly thereafter she became paralyzed and bedridden, with almost constant pain. In a time of no government support for the disabled or poor, she helped support her family by selling books on commission and handicrafts that she made between bouts of severe pain and weakness. Friends, associates, and even strangers would also give to the family, often being the direct answer to prayers for provision. (Through the text when money is mentioned, note that one dollar in 1867 was worth about $21 in 2024.)

This book was written when she was still in the depths of her "valley", written when she was about 30 years old. The "Valley of Baca" is mentioned in Psalm 84:6, and means "Valley of Weeping" or a dry, desolate, sterile place. The proceeds from the sale of the book helped support the family. In 1878, when she was 33 years old, she was almost instantly and completely healed.

The author Pansy wrote a slightly fictionalized account of her in her book Spun from Fact.- Summary by TriciaG (7 hr 12 min)

Chapters

Introduction by Thomas H. Pearne 12:46 Read by TriciaG
Birth and Early Impressions 13:08 Read by TriciaG
My Father's Experience and Death 9:52 Read by TriciaG
Changes 19:32 Read by TriciaG
Trials 13:43 Read by TriciaG
Teaching School 9:12 Read by TriciaG
New Treatment 10:08 Read by TriciaG
Providences 20:00 Read by TriciaG
Consolations 15:29 Read by TriciaG
Afflictions 13:29 Read by TriciaG
Enjoyments 24:41 Read by TriciaG
Home at Last 12:43 Read by TriciaG
Sad News 16:24 Read by TriciaG
New Arrangements 32:26 Read by TriciaG
Entire Consecration 12:08 Read by TriciaG
A Christian's Prayer 21:02 Read by TriciaG
Special Providences 20:19 Read by TriciaG
Lessons Learned 17:30 Read by TriciaG
Prevailing Prayer 17:05 Read by TriciaG
Blindness 11:30 Read by TriciaG
Removal to Dayton 47:42 Read by TriciaG
God Knows Best 29:27 Read by TriciaG
Labor and Rest 31:49 Read by TriciaG