Florida Remembered as a Beautiful Vacation

 Advance your understanding of the beautiful vacation destination of Florida with the novel, A Land Remembered, written by Patrick D. Smith, in 1985. The book has earned him the "The Greatest Living Floridian" award and Pulitzer Prize nominations. The novel has also been adapted for K-12 classrooms as an easy to understand story of Florida history. Smith provides insight and understanding of Florida's unique culture by allowing it to be experienced through the fictional MacIvey family.

Smith adds value by carefully mentioning the names of real Florida towns and events that you are likely to encounter or see evidence of while visiting the State. Picture perfect destinations are mentioned several times including when Smith writes, "from Fort Pierce they headed south on a narrow dirt road paralleling Henry Flagler's railroad". He also compliments history with a heartfelt memorial in chapter 43 to "the two thousand who died and vanished forever" at the flood of Lake Okeechobee in September, 1928. Smith's novel is inspired by adventures and sorrows of true frontier life. Today of these cities and many others mentioned can be visited and enjoyed for their expected natural beauty and historical charm.

The marshes, open lands, and beaches that make this state diverse are portrayed with mystery and grandeur. The book describes cypress trees towering over a hundred feet into the sky with the ground beautifully covered in lush ferns. Samples of natural enchantment can be found throughout Florida. Many years passed and the towns of Florida grew, including the east coast town of Fort Pierce. Then the railroad continued south along the coast of Florida, dikes were built, and land was leveled. The issue of preserving the native Florida land from overdevelopment became the great burden of the MacIvey family who ironically struggled against the land to survive. The pioneers are left remorseful and desperate to save what is left of our local natural environment. A Land Remembered has made its own place in Florida history and will have an impact on generations to come as the novel is further read and shared. Plan your vacation, read about Florida, and love every minute!