Love born of tragedy is a common theme in romance. Terri J. Haynes’ The Daughter of Shiloh is an excellent example of this plot, examining the aftermath of a calamity and bringing to light a little-known piece of history.

Lealie Bevard is the crown princess of Shiloh Baptist Chruch in Birmingham, Alabama. A beautiful, passionate, and hard-working young woman, she was sent to the Tuskegee Institute on a scholarship from the church to train under Booker T. Washington. But Lealie has a secret. While she has loved her time at Tuskegee and excelled there, that is not where she believes her future lies. Mr. Washington is focused on upward mobility through outstanding labor. His students are trained in various industries, including carpentry, animal husbandry, nursing, and accounting. W.E.B. Du Bois, an educator in Boston, believes a classical education – the kind received at white universities – will “lead the race from poverty and ignorance.” Lealie admires what Mr. Washington is accomplishing, but her longing is to join her brother and others who are following Mr. Du Bois’ path at Howard University.

Determined to make her dream come true, Lealie plans to request a new scholarship when she attends the Negro Baptist Convention (NBC) being hosted by Shiloh. She’s so confident she’ll receive it that she cancels her fall semester schedule at Tuskegee and brags to her fellow students about her brilliant future. They mock her pride rather than offer congratulations or prayers for success.

Milton Rafferty has nothing but bad memories of Birmingham and has no intention of ever returning to Shiloh Baptist. Due to an incident between his father and the church, Milton has long been considered a black sheep in the congregation. His mother had to work two jobs to put him through Tuskegee, while other kids from the parish were offered scholarships. It’s therefore quite awkward when Mr. Washington insists that Milton join him in attending the NBC. Milton very reluctantly agrees, determined to have the bare minimum involvement with the church and spend all his free time with his mother, who still lives in the area.

When Lealie approaches Milton, he’s surprised. He only knows her in passing from around campus. However, Lealie needs his help. She hasn’t secured a place to stay and is wondering if he knows anyone in the congregation of Shiloh who would be willing to provide room and board for the small amount she can afford to pay. He connects her with a friend of his mother’s.

That would have been the end of their contact, but on September 19, 1902, when both are in attendance at the convention to hear Booker T. Washington speak, a tragedy occurs. Someone screams, shouting a word that sounds like fire, and people swarm toward the exit, causing a stampede. Lealie is caught at the center of a writhing mass of bodies, forced to the bottom of a pile of people. She can feel a painful twist take place in her ankle, a bump to the head, and then shortness of breath. Milton is more fortunate; strong and tall, he is able to help others to safety and is among those who rescue Laelie. With a rather severe concussion and no kindred in town to care for her, Milton and his mother make the decision to take Laelie home with them and slowly nurse her back to health. She’s among the fortunate. Many died of suffocation, smothered and crushed beneath those trying to avoid the non-existent fire that caused them to flee the church.

Once Laelie is back on her feet, she and Milton set aside plans to return to Tuskegee and agree to help at Shiloh until the injured have all been taken care of and the church is up and running again. Milton, just a few semesters from graduating from nursing school, helps the sick while Laelie, who excels in management, assists with accounting and handling the donations that come from all over the country to cover the expenses resulting from the tragedy. As they do their best to help Shiloh get back on its feet, they slowly grow closer, and Laelie starts to wonder if the path she first thought was right is in fact the one God wants her to take.

This is a charming Inspirational romance focusing on a terrific hero and heroine. Laelie is originally a rather proud and ambitious individual, but the time she spends recovering forces her to reflect on her faith and what she truly wants, versus what she has been told she should want. Her struggle with her health and reflections on being a part of such a horrifying event give her some much-needed humility. Her intelligence, practicality, and kind nature shine as she helps Shiloh rebuild.

I admired Milton’s ability to set aside his complicated feelings toward Shiloh in the face of tragedy. The attitude of some of the older attendees towards him makes it difficult, but the fact that the pastor and others in the community admire and respect him helps him to reach a point of reconciliation with the congregation. Having Laelie beside him makes a big difference, too. They begin as cordial coworkers, eager to serve in any way they can, and slowly grow to become more than that to each other. Both of them are at pivotal moments in their lives, where decisions about their future are being made, and I appreciated that neither throws everything to the wind to follow their hearts. They carefully balance what they want, what it will take to achieve it, and how the other will fit into that before declaring their love. I was far more confident of their HEA because they had put thought as well as feeling into their union. Their love story is sweet and gentle, a lovely counterpoint to the chaos in which it began.

I also appreciated that both Milton and Laelie have some PTSD after the event. Laelie, who experienced physical danger/damage, struggles to enter Shiloh and Milton, who helped a great many people out, as well as evacuating the dead, has nightmares and panic attacks afterwards. It’s important to acknowledge that those who live through trauma often have mental health issues related to the occurrence.

On a scale of one to ten, with one being almost no mention of God and ten being a sermon masquerading as a novel, this is a four. Faith is displayed more through actions than conversation, and the few times characters do espouse theology, it is meaningful to the text and the people involved.

The Daughter of Shiloh is an excellent historical romance that effectively showcases a significant moment in Black history. I also appreciated the sensitive examination of the differing philosophies of Mr. Du Bois and Mr. Washington, and how they impacted the communities around them. I would recommend this to fans of American History or anyone who enjoys low-key Inspirational romance.