Belle

A Mildred Budge Friendship Story

By: Daphne Simpkins

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

From the author of the popular Mildred Budge church lady books comes a brand-new spin-off series featuring the friends of Mildred Budge and how they see the same world Miss Budge inhabits—and her, too.

In Belle, the first book in the new series, friends of Mildred Budge see life in Cloverdale through the eyes of Belle Deerborn.
Belle Deerborn lives next door to Mildred Budge. The Deerborn house is across and open field, and Belle sits out on her back stoop each morning reading her Bible and also watching Mildred live and the people who come and go. Others see Belle as living a confined and desperate life, but that's not true at all. Belle is becoming a great problem solver, is learning to manage herself more thoughtfully, and has a creative side that she is cultivating with her sewing projects.

Contrary to the reputation of caregiving, Belle Deerborn is anything but trapped, depressed, or hopeless. She has been surprised by the many evidences of God's very real help in time of trouble, and that very real help often comes from good neighbors.

One of those people is Mildred Budge, but she's not the only answer to Belle's prayers in this tender story about a long-time marriage and how it is coming to fulfilment and also, in a way, winding down. If you are a friend of Mildred Budge you will enjoy the company of Belle A Mildred Budge Friendship Story.

And if you are the aging wife or husband of a spouse with a chronic physical problem Belle’s story will remind you that you are not as alone as the circumstances around you appear to suggest. To find out more about how Belle is living out her season as a caregiver, check out this new addition to the Mildred Budge stories.

Other titles in the Mildred Budge books are:
Mildred Budge in Cloverdale
Mildred Budge in Embankment
The Bride’s Room
Short story collections and Christmas novella:
Miss Budge in Love
The Mission of Mildred Budge
Miss Budge Goes to Fountain City

About Daphne Simpkins
Daphne Simpkins is an Alabama writer who is presently best known for the Mildred Budge church lady series, but she has written on other books, fiction and non-fiction. To keep up with new releases, follow her on Amazon, Facebook, BookBub, Goodreads, and Linkedin.com.

Totally relatable.

This is a touching story. I am living this life. I am a church lady with a husband who has Alzheimer's. He was an elder and we were in church every Sunday now we do good to make it once per month. As his caretaker, this author has told my story and it is well written. I recommend this to anyone who is a caretaker but especially one caring for someone with dementia.

The surrendered life of a caregiver

I appreciated the attention to the details of caring for a spouse with dementia. Belle's attitude of quiet surrender to the essential cares of life and the loving patient love she showed to Sam was inspiring. I also appreciated the selfless respect and devotion shown to Sam by the church ladies and men. Would it only be so in real life. Christians need to come along side of those that are hurting, to the household of God first, but then to those in the world as Jesus directs us.

Belle

Excellent! Belle is such a good character, and I loved and laughed along with the day to day life of her and Sam, her husband. Sam has dementia; and Belle tells what it's like in her rollercoaster life.

Pre grieving

I’ve worn the shoes of the caregiver wife, the too tired to talk friend and the strength it takes to walk next to your husband as the long goodbye plays out. Well done in my opinion. Sad but truthful. Only when your girlfriends experience it does it dawn on them you have walked this head of them. Faith and real world well woven together.

Mildred Budge & her community are fun to follow

I am posting this same review for each of 10 related books. In the course of a few weeks in early 2026, I listened to all of Daphne Simpkins’ Mildred Budge books. Like many before me, I fell in love with main character Mildred. There is much I recognized from my own experience in the stories. I was born in Alabama (AL), & lived 57 of my 64 years in the South (AL & Tennessee). My mother lived in Mongomery’s old Cloverdale neighborhood a few years, so the setting was familiar. The “church lady” stereotype struck me as a bit dated or too extreme at times, but there is much truth in it. The material is funny, practical, & very accurate as far as human nature. It portrays a church community living out faith, shares the truth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; & what it’s like to have the Christian experience over the long haul of life, to be convicted & grow as a Christian, & to have the Holy Spirit in your ear.

There are three series featuring the same character (primary, short adventures, friends/friendship). The “primary” four are continuous stories that follow in order from first to last. The short adventures & friends/friendship ones fit around/before/during/after the time frames of the “primary” four. Some of the same events overlap, but titles across the three series do not fully follow each other sequentially, including if you read from oldest to last by original publication date. It is obvious where some would fall, but debatable where to place others. If you want to go everywhere Mildred does, you want to consume all titles as much in order as possible. There are numerous Internet references that list the books in order (not all the same). Here is the order I recommend - (1) Miss Budge in Love, (2) Mildred Budge in Cloverdale, (3) The Mission of Mildred Budge: Short Stories About Church Life in the South, (4), Mildred Budge in Embankment, (5) Belle, (6) Bride’s Room, (7) Miss Budge Goes to Fountain City, (8) Kingdom Come, & (9) A Gentle & Lowly Christmas. Christmas in Fountain City can go anywhere near the beginning, but works best before Mildred Budge in Embankment. It makes no mention of main character Mildred Budge, but lays groundwork for when she & Dixie go there later, & refers to an earlier different Christmas than the one where Mildred Budge visits.

At the close of A Gentle & Lowly Christmas, there is plenty of story for the cast of characters that could still be told IF the author chooses to produce more!

I purchased the main four in large print hard copy paperback to donate to the local Sellersburg, IN library near me. I know plenty of ladies from age 60s into 90s who would very much enjoy them. The author herself helped me to find these through Amazon, as they were not obviously available when I searched. It was a pleasure to correspond with her via electronic mail.

I always prefer authors reading their own works, but most non author narrators on Audible are good. These books were my first Audible experience with artificial intelligence (AI)/virtual narration. I AM NOT A FAN! It was dismal to me. Despite loving the first book & falling in love with the main character, I considered not listening to any more due to the this factor alone. Though it was was generally annoying, I forged ahead due to my affinity for the material, & because the titles were available as part of my membership without costing credits or extra funds. There were mulitiple AI voices - young to middle aged sounding women (black & white) & two males, at least one of which was black. The best fit for narrator would be a white female, aged 60+, from the deep South/with a clear natural Southern accent (such as Fannie Flagg or me!) & familiarity with lingo. It would also be more pleasant to the listener to have the same voice do all titles in the series. The cadence was off. “Breaths” were taken/pauses occurred at wrong places. Emphasis was not always on the correct syllable. Pronunciation was often incorrect. I called Audible & complained & was told my input was being noted. I contacted the author in case she had input into the process & was not aware of how her work sounded. She explained that she had agreed to participate in a program to implement & develop the use of AI/virtual narration with Audible.