Where the Resilient Grow: The Formative Years is a work of historical fiction inspired by the true family history of author Rick H. Langley. Rick’s bloodline traces back to the world-renowned author Margaret Mitchell. Her book, “Gone with the Wind,” remains one of the top-selling books of all time. Rick followed a similar path in his writing and shares a fictional story based on true family history. This is the first of 3 novels that span over 212 years of American and his family’s history. Drawing on this legacy, Langley continues the story of the South, exploring courage, survival, and the shaping of a new frontier.

The novel tracks the extraordinary journey of his great-great-great-great grandfather, Parson Brown, and the events that would eventually give rise to the legendary Parson Brown orange. This orange later became the feedstock of the global citrus industry.
At the heart of this story is a fragile orange seedling gifted by a Chinese family. What begins as myth soon becomes a catalyst for destiny and the forging of resilience.

In 1970, twelve-year-old Lucas, the son of a powerful Senator, struggles with identity, isolation, and the unspoken weight of a family legacy he does not yet understand.

William, a freed slave and gifted young man whom Parson Brown and Meriabe regard as their own son. His strength and loyalty become vital to the group’s survival.

Dia, a young Chinese girl who survived the death of her parents at sea, arrives in Savannah carrying the sacred orange seedling entrusted to her by her grandmother.
Naomi and her Romani family, guided by visions and burdened by a bloodline scarred by the Salem witch trials. They are also drawn to Savannah. They were called to protect the child and the seedling.

The story’s turning point comes at the Savannah slave market, where fate binds these lives together.

Book One is a story of origins, convergence, and the resilience forged in the formative years of extraordinary people. It shows how courage, loyalty, and prophecy shape destinies.