Will I Ever Find A Way To Stop Hurting? "The Healing" by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Seek a fresh start with Amish widower Samuel Fisher as he journeys from Lancaster County to Bluegrass Country, hoping to find a balm for the grief he’s carried with him. Will this single father, burdened by yesterday’s memories, discover a new and perhaps better life in Kentucky, the land of tomorrow? Esther Beiler, who helps watch Samuel’s children, develops a crush on Samuel and a true affection for his kids. Can she win his heart, or has she already lost it to an English woman? How will God untangle star-crossed lovers when jealousies and misconceptions threaten to tear them apart?

Set in Western Pennsylvania and Kentucky, this second novel in the "Kentucky Brothers" series picks up the saga of one family--actually a blended family of sisters and brothers as they deal with the crises of living. The story of Titus Fisher was told in the first novel The Journey wherein he found a way of beginning a new phase of his life by accepting the invitation of friends and relatives to move to Kentucky to an Amish community where he could find work and get away from his home community where memories of a disastrous failed romance were almost more than he could bear. At the end of that first book, Titus' brother Samuel had just found his pregnant wife Elsie dead after she fell down the basement stairs. She was pregnant with their fifth child.

Samuel is a deeply spiritual man whose love for his wife was all-encompassing. He is a very good provider and loves his children dearly, but now that Elsie and their unborn child is dead, he is finding it almost impossible to remember the grief of his children for their mother as his sense of loss overwhelms him. He is aware of and grateful for the support, prayers, and expressions of caring from his Amish community. But everywhere he looks he sees reminders of Elsie and his heart feels like it is being repeatedly assaulted with her loss. He decides to accept the invitation of his brother Titus to move to Kentucky over the objections of his parents and close friends. He can't remain where Elsie's memory is always staring him in the face.

Esther Beiler is a woman who first makes her appearance in The Journey as a woman Titus was initially interested in as a possible wife. But it soon became apparent that they just didn't suit, and Esther's heart remained untouched. Now her parents have moved back to Pennsylvania and she is left behind to care for their house and to find work after the sale of her parents' store. And opportunity to care for Samuel's children opens up and she is delighted. She has longed for a home of her own and children to care for, and being with Samuel's brood has filled an empty space in her heart. Even though she is aware of Samuel's deep grief, she sees in him so many qualities she wants in a life partner and before she knows it, her heart is engaged.

As always, Ms Brunstetter's books give the reader a genuine taste of life, but life through the context of the Amish faith and lifestyle. Simple though their way of life may be, it is still real life with real people whose faith sustains them and guides them directly in their choices and decisions. Both Samuel and Esther are forthright in their desire to have their lives testify to living according to what they believe to be God's will for them. And it is inspirational to see them struggling to make sense of life crises that are all too common and yet, their constant faith in a loving God keeps them grounded. Samuel is like so many who have lost spouses who are deeply loved--can finding a new love be a form of betrayal to the spouse now gone? He must come to a new understanding that human beings can never promise "forever" as we have no control over the future and only God can claim "forever" as a quality of life.

This is a warm and wonderful story of love that is lost, grief that must be endured, lives that must move on, caring and loving that can never afford to wane, and the healing power of prayer, support, friends, family, and one's devotion and faith in God. Interwoven in Samuel and Esther's story is the continuation of Titus and Suzanne's courtship as Samuel's needs and concerns almost overwhelm their relationship and place some significant pressures on their future life together.

No matter what one's faith practice or belief, these stories set within the Amish context are so very readable, wonderfully entertaining, filled with graceful and loving people, and instructive as to an alternate way of approaching life's dilemmas. They are the kind of stories we can proudly give to your teens and know that there is still real living involved without the dark and negative approach to problem-solving. Add in the fact that this author has been engaging the interest of readers for years with over 85 published novels and you have a novel that is well worth the time and effort to read, is instructive and entertaining, and leaves the reader--me, anyway, feeling like I deeply satisfied. I highly recommend this book and give it a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

This novel is due to be released 01 September 2011.

Choices and Coming of Age: "The Journey" by Wanda Brunstetter

Anyone who has ever traveled throughout Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky especially will realize that the Amish presence has had a significant influence on the culture of those states. Somehow, even though most Americans don't know much about their belief system or their ways of living--believing them just to refuse to live in the "modern age"--have still come to see that their strong faith, moral, community, and family values have proven to be the backbone of many areas of the United States.

Having been raised by a Mennonite father, I have a different "take" on this way of believing and living since the Mennonite form of Christianity is seen by many to be a "kissing cousin" to the Amish way. We certainly had some pretty non-negotiable rules that formed the boundaries of my growing up years, but many of which I appreciate for their presence and their ability to keep me and my sister from getting what I call a "terminal case of the stupids" when we were kids.

In this particular novel a young man named Titus is living with his family in Pennsyvania--the younger of twins and a young adult who has always felt that his brother's life has been charmed and he just has never measured up. It is not easy to live in the shadow of a sibling, especially a twin, yet he and his brother were close nevertheless. He was working part-time for his brother-in-law and planning to propose to his long-time sweetheart when she announces that she is leaving their lifestyle as well as leaving him to live "English" and to move to California with her best girlfriend. Nursing his broken heart and convinced that he cannot remain where he will be constantly reminded of Phoebe, he agrees to take a position in an Amish community in Kentucky working in a wood shop crafting furniture, window coverings, storage sheds, etc. This is a major change in his life--one that he hopes will prove to his parents, and mostly to himself, that he is capable of forging his own future.

There Titus meets two young women--Suzanne who is the granddaughter of his employer, and Esther, a lovely, accomplished and open-hearted young woman about his age and to whom he is immediately attracted. He also is immediately "turned off" by Suzanne for a number of reasons. First, she is almost the spitten image of Phoebe. Second, she is not really domestic--she can't sew, doesn't think women should be confined to the house, and loves to work with wood--in fact, she is quite accomplished. Last, she is quite vocal in sharing her thoughts and opinions, and Titus is really not used to that.

This is a novel of learning, sharing, grieving, and hope. It is the journey of a young man into himself as well as away from his geographical home, a time when he must find his own way while still remaining a loyal son and brother. His discoveries about himself also lead him to change his responses to Suzanne and Esther, especially after realizing that what someone appears to be is not always who they really are. His old hearthrob is woven in and out of the story, and her experience away from the Amish life forms a significant part of the story.

Ms Brunstetter has written extensively about the Amish and her novels are full of color, family, personal hope, disappointment, confusion, and love. People often forget that just because their lifestyle is completely governed by their faith, they still encounter the same challenges and problems everyone must resolve. They are imperfect people as are all of us, they don't always do the wisest thing, they get upset at each other and their children have the same struggles growing up. If anything, the restrictive way of life can sometimes make growing up even more difficult, although those guidelines, while seeming to oppress, are just like very good fences which keep people and other creatures safe.

I greatly enjoyed this novel and found their ways of relating to be heart-warming and inspirational. My own family has a very strong faith base, but whether or not that is the case with the reader, there are still wonderful scenes in this book to be encountered and genuine people to meet. While it is fiction, it very accurately reflects the way families and individuals resolve their questions, problems, and challenges. And like all of us, Titus learns that he can indeed be a capable adult and make the choices that will insure a measure of happiness for him and any future family he may have.

This is really an old-fashioned love story and I hope you all will read it soon. I give it a rating of 4.5 out of 5.