The Hope Series by Anna Broome
Hope is My Anchor
At twelve years old, he ran away from everything he knew. What followed was a life nobody could have invented.
Born into grinding poverty in a mountain village on the island of Crete, Manny grows up barefoot, hungry, and certain of one thing — he was not meant to stay. When his father’s violence finally pushes him past the point of no return, twelve-year-old Manny slips out in the night and talks his way onto a Merchant Marine ship bound for the open sea.
What follows is an extraordinary journey across decades and oceans. Working as a cargo hand and mechanic, Manny earns the trust of a captain who becomes the father he never had. When the 1967 Arab-Israeli War blocks the Suez Canal, his ship reroutes around the tip of Africa and across the Atlantic. When the vessel finally enters the St. Lawrence Seaway and docks in Detroit, Manny makes a split-second decision. He jumps ship with nothing but the clothes on his back.
In Detroit’s Greektown, the boy who never learned to read finds work. First in the coney island diners, then on the line at a Chevy plant, where pure mechanical genius carries him further than any classroom ever could. He also finds a woman seven years his senior who will change everything. Hidden in her parents’ basement from Immigration agents, Manny begins a new fight, not for survival this time, but for the right to belong.
What follows is a decades-long pursuit of the American dream, shadowed by a wife’s struggles, a mother slowly dying an ocean away, and siblings who betray the family in ways that cut to the bone. Through it all, the memory of that ship captain — the father figure Manny never had — guides him like a compass. And woven through every chapter is an unshakeable thread of faith: the belief that hope isn’t wishful thinking. It’s an anchor.
Inspired by the true life story of Anna Broome’s father, Hope Is My Anchor is a sweeping, deeply human story of resilience, belonging, and what it costs — and what it means — to finally come home.
For readers who loved Unbroken and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Read alongside the prequel, A Light of Hope.
My Thoughts
Twelve-year-old Manny born on the island of Crete grows up in poverty, with a cruel father and hopes to eventually escape to America for a better life. Barefooted, he runs away to a ship, where he finds work and a captain who mentors him. He joins the Merchant Marines, which takes him all over–Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, Singapore, Bombay, Africa. But not America until a Mideast war closes the Suez Canal. His ship heads for Canada and America, where his first glimpse wasn’t very favorable.
But in Detroit he’s introduced to a Greek community and he jumps ship at age 18, in hopes to become a citizen. I’ve worked with refugees so understood the complications and fears about legal immigration, but Manny’s was especially challenging. So was his new wife. Family back on Crete expected Manny to send money home to help with his mother’s medical bills, which he did, but still abusive father kept it. Manny’s life certainly didn’t turn out the way he’d hoped, but he eventually got to the place where he began to break generational strongholds of stubbornness, anger, and unforgiveness.
This is such a powerful and well-told story from the memories of the author’s father.
Hope is My Anchor: Book Club & Study Guide
Unlock the Power of Forgiveness and Generational Healing
Dive deeper into Hope is My Anchor with this Book Club & Study Guide, designed to enrich your reading experience and foster meaningful conversations. This companion guide explores the powerful themes of family, faith, and freedom from generational strongholds, offering thought-provoking questions and reflective exercises to guide you on a journey of hope and healing.
Whether you’re leading a book club, participating in a small group, or seeking personal growth, this study guide provides:
✅ Discussion questions spark insightful conversations and deeper understanding.
✅ Faith-Based reflections explore biblical truths connecting the novel’s themes.
✅ Practical exercises apply lessons of forgiveness, resilience, and grace.
Perfect for book clubs, church groups, or personal reflection, the Hope is My Anchor Book Club & Study Guide invites you to go beyond the pages of the novel and discover how hope can anchor you through life’s storms.
My Thoughts
If you’ve ever wrestled with unforgiveness, especially within your family, this study guide will certainly help you work through your thoughts and toward healing and peace. This follows the compelling story of Manny, the author’s father and an immigrant from Greece, in his journey toward being able to forgive. The book begins with background notes for Hope is My Anchor–a brief history of Greece, or world history, and the Greek Orthodox Faith.
This is a such valuable workbook to help readers, whether alone or in a group, to examine areas where we humans struggle. Each one includes a Bible verse, questions to ponder, reflections, and exercises suggesting an action to take. For those working through the book on their own, the author welcomes them to a Facebook page to connect with others. What a terrific resource for anyone struggling with difficult family members.
A Light of Hope
She was never meant to carry it all… but she did.
In a quiet village on the island of Crete, Sapphira’s life begins like many others, rooted in family, tradition, and faith. But beneath the surface of ordinary days lies a story marked by hardship, sacrifice, and a love that will be tested beyond what she ever imagined.
Married young to a man she hoped would build a life with her, Sapphira instead finds herself navigating the weight of disappointment, poverty, and a husband slowly unraveling under the pressure to provide. As Nikos turns to drinking and the shadows of his past begin to surface, Sapphira is left to hold her family together, often at great personal cost.
When tragedy strikes, and her son’s life hangs in the balance, Sapphira is forced to confront the deepest questions of her faith:
How do you keep believing when your prayers feel unanswered?
How do you forgive when the wounds keep coming?
And how do you hold onto hope when everything around you feels like it’s breaking?
A Light of Hope is a powerful and emotional journey of a mother’s resilience, a woman’s quiet strength, and the unshakable faith that carries her through generations of struggle.
Set against the rich backdrop of mid-20th-century Crete, this story explores the bonds of family, the weight of generational wounds, and the enduring power of hope, even in life’s darkest moments.
Inspired by the true story of the author’s grandmother, A Light of Hope is for readers who love Christian historical fiction about family, sacrifice, and faith, and for anyone who has ever wondered what the women before them endured.
My Thoughts
Sapphira’s story of her life on Crete is one of poverty, questionable decisions, losses, hardship, and faith. This verse from Hebrews undergirds this story of the author’s grandmother: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” The church was Sapphira’s sanctuary while her life and family seemed to crumble. She held on to her faith in God in the midst of hardship, when she herself was riddled with strokes, becoming an “ultimate inconvenience.”
The lantern on the cover is a beautiful symbol of Sapphira’s actual lantern, but also a symbol of her faith journey. She shared her own inner light with others, not realizing it was there in her own doubts and misery, but others recognized it. An encouraging story of hope and faith.
Who is Anna Broome?
Anna Broome writes stories rooted in faith, family, and the kind of hope that holds us together when everything else falls apart.
Her debut novel, Hope Is My Anchor, was inspired by the remarkable true story of her father, who left his dirt-floor home in Crete at only twelve years old, sailed the world as a Merchant Marine, and jumped ship in Detroit to pursue the American dream. Her second novel, A Light of Hope, tells the story of the mother he left behind. Together, the books form The Hope Series, exploring how faith, forgiveness, and the choices of one generation can shape the next.
Deeply connected to her Greek heritage and her family’s roots on the island of Crete, Anna believes every family has a story worth preserving before it is lost. That conviction led her to create Hope Story Academy, where she helps others ask meaningful questions and capture the stories of the people they love most.
Anna lives in Michigan with her husband of twenty-seven years and is the proud mother of three grown sons.
Please check out her website, The Hope Series. Here is Anna’s Amazon Author Page.
She is also delightful to follow on Instagram, where you’ll find family photos as well.
Anna Broome’s incredible stories are also a reminder to preserve your own family stories, to notice the beliefs and quirky habits and celebrations that follow a family through generations.