After her widowed father remarries, nineteen-year-old Clara Bender is no longer needed to help run his household. Marriage seems like her best hope of moving out, but there are few young men in her tiny Indiana Amish community. When she comes across letters from her mother's aunt Ella Mae Zook, she sets off to visit Lancaster County's Hickory Hollow to decide where her future lies.
Ella Mae is not yet ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband spent fifty-seven happy years, but her children are eager to resettle her, making Clara's visit seem like an answer to prayer. The two women form a warm bond while restoring an heirloom wedding quilt and sharing their lives, with Ella Mae confiding about a tragedy from her courting years. Eventually, Ella Mae suggests Clara stay for the summer, allowing Ella Mae more time in her home but also giving Clara an opportunity to meet the area's eligible young men. Soon Clara's life is upended by an unexpected incident and a potential beau. Through it all, will she find where her heart truly belongs?
Within the pages of this heartwarming prequel to New York Times bestselling author Beverly Lewis's “The Shunning” is a touching story of love, belonging, and moving forward.
