Description
A marriage is tested in this Old Order Amish novel of longing for renewed love and a path for forgiveness from the best-selling author of Gathering the Threads.
Old Order Amish wife and mother Jemima has put her marriage and family ahead of herself for years. She’s set herself aside. Raising four children, she’s followed all the rules and has been patient in looking forward to her time to chase a dream of her own.
My Review:
This Amish family drama was both interesting and full of emotion. Everything about Jemima’s life seems to have come apart. Her life savings has been taken and she can’t carry out the plans that meant so much to her. It appears her Amish husband has been unfaithful to her and now wants her to raise a baby he has fathered with an “Englisch” woman. Jemima feels trapped in her Amish life and marriage, and that she has nowhere to turn for help. Her commitment to and love for her own young children is the only anchor in her life. Finding a way to forgive her husband, Roy, seems impossible. But finding love for the tiny Englisch baby, Heidi, seems to be the most difficult task of all. How can she find the strength to raise and take care of this child?
I felt compassion for Jemima and the authors did a good job of communicating her confusion, anger, and despair. Roy was not my favorite character in this story. Even when he expressed his deep love for Jemima, he still seemed weak. There are two strong supporting characters in this book, Chris and Abigail. Their story, although secondary, is a good one and rounds out this book.
There’s a strong theme of extending forgiveness and relinquishing the fear of being hurt by someone you trusted. There’s also a theme of putting faith in God to guide you when your own strength seems to be gone. This was at times a hard book to read, but the ending is well worth reading the book.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times, CBA, ECPA, and USA Today best-selling author who has written twenty-two (and counting!) works of fiction and one of nonfiction. Cindy has been featured on ABC Nightline and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal,and has worked with National Geographic on a documentary concerning Amish life. Wall Street Journal listed Cindy as the one of the top three most popular authors of Amish fiction.
She’s won Fiction Book of the Year, Reviewer’s Choice Awards, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest, as well as one of Crossings’ Best Books of the Year. She’s been a finalist for the prestigious Christy, Rita, and Carol Awards, Christian Book of the Year, and Christian Retailers Choice Awards.
Her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families enrich her novels with authenticity. Though she didn’t realize it at the time, seeds were sown years ago that began preparing Cindy to write these books. At the age of ten, while living in the dairy country of Maryland, she became best friends with Luann, a Plain Mennonite girl. Luann, like all the females in her family, wore the prayer Kapp and cape dresses. Her parents didn’t allow television or radios, and many other modern conveniences were frowned upon. During the numerous times Luann came to Cindy’s house to spend the night, her rules came with her and the two were careful to obey them–afraid that if they didn’t, the adults would end their friendship. Although the rules were much easier to keep when they spent the night at Luann’s because her family didn’t own any of the forbidden items, both sets of parents were uncomfortable with the relationship and a small infraction of any kind would have been enough reason for the parents to end the relationship. While navigating around the adults’ disapproval and the obstacles in each other’s lifestyle, the two girls bonded in true friendship that lasted into their teen years, until Cindy’s family moved to another region of the US.
As an adult, Cindy became friends with a wonderful Old Order Amish family who opened their home to her. Although the two women, Miriam and Cindy, live seven hundred miles apart geographically, and a century apart by customs, when they come together they never lack for commonality, laughter, and dreams of what only God can accomplish through His children. Over the years Cindy has continued to make wonderful friendships with those inside the Amish and Mennonite communities–from the most conservative ones to the most liberal.
Cindy and her husband reside near the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains in their now empty nest.
If you’d like more information or to contact her, you can go to her website: http://www.cindywoodsmall.com
Patti did such a good job reviewing the book! I am going through a rough patch in my marriage; but know God can win out and this just makes me want to read it SOONER than later!!