A Girl Called Samson

ALSO BY AMY HARMON Young Adult and Paranormal Romance Slow Dance in Purgatory Prom Night in Purgatory Inspirational Romance A Different Blue Running Barefoot Making Faces Infinity + One The Law of Moses The Song of David The Smallest Part Historical Fiction From Sand and Ash What the Wind Knows Where the Lost Wander The Songbook of Benny Lament The Unknown Beloved Romantic Fantasy The Bird and the Sword The Queen and the Cure The First Girl Child The Second Blind Son This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Text copyright © 2023 by Amy Sutorius Harmon All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Lake Union Publishing, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Lake Union Publishing are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781542039741 (paperback) ISBN-13: 9781542039734 (digital) Cover design by Faceout Studio, Tim Green Cover image: ©Joanna Czogala / ArcAngel; ©caesart / Shutterstock; ©swp23 / Shutterstock; ©alexandre zveiger / Shutterstock; ©Raland / Shutterstock; ©VRVIRUS / Shutterstock; ©Fotokvadrat / Shutterstock; ©Chvan Ilona / Shutterstock; ©getgg / Shutterstock; ©Sapan Unhale / Shutterstock; ©Tony Marturano / Shutterstock; ©Josef Hanus / Shutterstock; ©jessicahyde / Shutterstock; ©Vasya Kobelev / Shutterstock For my daughters CONTENTS START READING January 3, 1827 1 THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS 2 IT BECOMES NECESSARY 3 ONE PEOPLE 4 DISSOLVE THE BANDS 5 OF THE EARTH 6 THE EQUAL STATION 7 THE LAWS OF NATURE 8 THE OPINIONS OF MANKIND 9 DECLARE THE CAUSES 10 THE SEPARATION 11 WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS 12 SELF-EVIDENT 13 ALL MEN 14 CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS 15 THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS 16 TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS 17 JUST POWERS 18 THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED 19 TO ALTER OR ABOLISH 20 LIGHT AND TRANSIENT CAUSES 21 DISPOSED TO SUFFER 22 A LONG TRAIN OF ABUSES 23 PROVIDE NEW GUARDS 24 THE PATIENT SUFFERANCE 25 THE NECESSITY WHICH CONSTRAINS THEM 26 LET FACTS BE SUBMITTED 27 ALL ALLEGIANCE 28 CONCLUDE PEACE 29 THIS DECLARATION 30 DIVINE PROVIDENCE AUTHOR’S NOTE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. Proverbs 31:25 January 3, 1827 Dear Elizabeth, You have not been far from my ~ 1 ~ THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS March 15, 1770 Winter