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A House in the Country

“Well,” I say, “We did it, don’t you think? We’ve restored the old house and taken our leisure in the country.”

“Yes, I do,” Eleanor says. “Of course, it was ten times harder than I expected.”

When David and Eleanor Cheatham stood before the neglected ruins of the Molett House in rural Alabama, they knew one thing for sure: they wanted to save it. Though no one had lived there for decades, the house had been in Eleanor’s family for seven generations. The couple had been talking about having a country house for years. And here was one that could be theirs—for free—if they could move it and restore it.

It seemed simple enough. And David and Eleanor were game to try.

They never could have predicted the fourteen-year odyssey upon which they were embarking. As they worked side by side to make their dream a reality, their resolve would be tested and their resources strained. Beyond the physical challenges of reversing decades of decay, the emotional gut-punch of learning the details of who Eleanor’s ancestors really were would leave them wondering if this was a past worth preserving at all.

Part memoir, part biography, and part history, A House in the Country—like the Molett House itself—is more than the sum of its parts. In the pages of this book, you will discover not just an account of two people taking the risk to pursue their goal no matter what the obstacles. You’ll also encounter a call to chase your own dreams with passion, examining your priorities along the way.