I recently read Healing Hearts Three Amish Novellas by Beth Wiseman. These stories were previously published in An Amish Christmas, An Amish Gathering, and An Amish Love. I'm a big fan of Amish fiction and have read a couple of Beth Wiseman's other books, so I was looking forward to reading this.
The first story - Healing Hearts is about a husband named Naaman who tells his wife Levina he is going away for a few weeks to visit Amish relatives in Ohio. Naaman ends up staying in Ohio for a year before he comes back home and has to confront his angry and hurt wife and grown children. Through prayer and forgiveness, Levina and Naaman are able to work things out and have a relationship more loving than it was before he left.
A Change of Heart is about a young Amish teenager named Leah who wants to write stories instead of learning the skills needed to be a good housewife. A guy named Aaron takes an interest in her and has to decide if he will accept Leah the way she is or meet another girl that is more suitable in the eyed of the Amish community.
A Choice to Forgive is a story about Lydia. Her husband Elam died leaving her a widow with young children to care for. Before she and Elam were married, she was in love with Daniel, Elam's brother. Daniel left her without any explanation and went to live in the "English" (non-Amish) world. Now he has come back to the Amish community and wants more than friendship with Lydia.
The underlying theme in all three stories seem to be forgiveness. When the one that has been hurt forgives the other person, then things work out for the best. There is also a few Amish recipes included in the back of the book as well as a reading group guide. The reading group guide asks thought provoking questions that would stimulate discussion in the group. I enjoyed reading the book; it was written in a way that is easy to read and understand, and I would recommend this book to others.
Disclosure: I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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