About the Book
Book: Texas Reclaimed
Author: Sherry Shindelar
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Release Date: February 3, 2026
Can love blossom between a woman haunted by her family’s past and a man haunted by the trauma of war?
Cora Scott is determined to hold onto her family’s Texas ranch and provide a stable home for her young half brother, Charlie, despite the mounting challenges of post-Civil War frontier life. But when a scheming creditor threatens to seize their land, she must accept help from Ben McKenzie, a former Yankee soldier sent by her late brother. Though Ben’s generosity and strength draw her, the man’s private struggle she stumbles upon—too reminiscent of her father’s alcoholism—makes her question whether she can trust her heart to him.
Ben McKenzie arrives in Texas intent on fulfilling his promise to his dying friend to protect Cora and Charlie. While using his inheritance to save their ranch, he battles not only the loss of their cattle but also his dependency on laudanum—a medicine that turned into a curse after his imprisonment at Andersonville. As his feelings for Cora deepen, he must choose between his promise to his father to take over their Philadelphia newspaper and his growing dream of a life with Cora in Texas.
When a Comanche warrior begins courting Cora and Ben’s responsibilities in Philadelphia threaten to tear them apart, they must decide if their love is strong enough to overcome their fears and forge a future together on the Texas frontier.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Originally from Tennessee, Sherry loves to take her readers into the past. She is an avid student of the Civil War and the Old West. When she is not busy writing, she is an English professor working to pass on her love of writing to her students. Sherry is an award-winning writer: 2023 Genesis finalist, Maggie finalist, and Crown finalist. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband of thirty-eight years. She has three grown children and three grandchildren.
More from Sherry
Texas Reclaimed is a story of victory, redemption, and the rebirth of trust. It is a story of courage and of freedom from the chains of the past and the chains of addiction. It is a story that honors the Civil War soldiers who survived their wounds, only to return home to fight another battle: dependency on the opioid-based medicines that had helped save their lives.
I first heard of laudanum when I watched the movie Amazing Grace about William Wilberforce’s eighteen-year battle to end the slave trade in Great Britain. Wilberforce played a pivotal role in ending the slave trade and eventually slavery itself in Britain by speaking, campaigning, and introducing bills into the British parliament. However, Wilberforce was also addicted to laudanum, a tincture of opium.
It wasn’t his intention to become dependent upon a drug. A doctor prescribed it to him when he was twenty-nine years old for ulcerative colitis and other health ailments. Laudanum was used to treat a number of health issues and ailments in the 18th and 19th centuries, and no one, including doctors, had much understanding about addiction and dependency. The word addiction didn’t even exist as we use it today. But the soul-deep struggle was very real for too many people, even a man of faith like Wilberforce.
Addiction is pernicious, and laudanum took its toll on Wilberforce. He suffered physically, mentally, and spiritually from its poisonous effects.
Years later, I learned that even some of the nineteenth-century authors that I admire, such as Louisa May Alcott and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, struggled with laudanum dependency, as well.
In the nineteenth century, doctors and the public viewed opium, in its various forms, as an essential medical tool. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were wounded in the American Civil War, and many more suffered from debilitating and potentially life-threatening illnesses. A Civil War medical manual, quoted in Dr. Jonathan Jones’s Opium Slavery, states that opiates were as “important to the surgeon as gunpowder to the ordinance [military weapons].”
My heart went out to Wilberforce, the tens of thousands of soldiers, and others enslaved to laudanum or other substances through no fault of their own. For many, once infected, it could be a lifelong battle, one that many did not win on their own. But there were victories.
And I love to write about soul-deep struggles and victories.
My hero, Ben McKenzie, is a Federal Cavalry captain captured and imprisoned in the notorious Andersonville Prison Camp. He barely survives the harsh conditions of the camp. His best friend, Jeb Scott, does not. Ben makes a death bed promise to his friend that he will look after Jeb’s mother and sister who live in Texas.
Ben aims to keep that promise, but the medical treatment that he receives after his release from prison camp leaves him dependent upon laudanum. My story starts a year later. Ben determines to break the chains that are eating away at his self-respect. He throws away his bottle of medicine and heads to Texas to keep his promise.
I asked a friend of mine about his own deliverance from addiction. He had this to say, “It was a lifetime ago, my addiction was strong, but my pain was stronger. I’ve lost so much in my life, but then I found that God’s love was deep, and He was even bigger to forgive. Out of His mercy He set me free, and through His grace He healed me from my past.”-Rev. Mark Little Elk
That is my prayer for all of those who struggle. And I look forward to sharing Ben McKenzie’s story with you in Texas Reclaimed.
Blog Stops
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, February 14
Books Less Travelled, February 15
Books You Can Feel Good About, February 15
Betti Mace, February 16
lakesidelivingsite, February 17
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 18
Texas Book-aholic, February 19
Bizwings Blog, February 20
Holly’s Book Corner, February 20
For Him and My Family, February 21
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 22
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 23
Lyssa Loves Books, February 24
The Bookish Pilgrim, February 24
Connie’s History Classroom, February 25
Cover Lover Book Review, February 26
Pause for Tales, February 27
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Sherry is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://gleam.io/mEe2g/texas-reclaimed-celebration-tour-giveaway
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