You can't see today's beauty when you're always looking at yesterday's storm."


A cruel act by strangers forces a North Idaho family to leave their dairy farm and start a new life amid the Great Depression. As they face harassment, hunger, and an uncertain future, each family member struggles to adjust to their greatly altered life and learns how to survive. But none more than ten-year-old Eleanor, who blames herself for the turn their lives have taken.


With descriptions that make the Great Depression come to life, Ida Smith gives you a front-row seat next to Eleanor Cruthers and her family during their trials and triumphs. Following Eleanor and her family, readers imagine the physical and emotional hardships, and hope many experienced as their world fell apart.


A powerful story of grief, redemption, and one family's resilience in the face of insurmountable odds. As Eleanor and her family build a new life and grow as individuals, Guarding What Remains challenges what is really important, and shines a light on our need for each other-to care and receive care.


If you liked Kristin Hannah's The Four Winds, Christina Baker Kline's Orphan Train, and Elizabeth Hardinger's All the Forgivenesses, you'll enjoy Guarding What Remains.