A Place Of Peace by Amy Clipston ~ review

Product Description


Take a trip to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, where you'll meet the women of the Kauffman Amish Bakery in Lancaster County. As each woman's story unfolds, you will share in her heartaches, trials, joys, dreams ... and secrets. You'll discover how the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle can clash with the 'English' way of life---and the decisions and consequences that follow. Most importantly, you will be encouraged by the hope and faith of these women, and the importance they place on their families. Miriam Lapp, who left the Amish community of Bird-in-Hand four years ago, is heartbroken when her sister calls to reveal that her mother has died suddenly. Traveling home to Pennsylvania, she is forced to face the heartache from her past, including her rift from her family and the breakup of her engagement with Timothy Kauffman. Her past emotional wounds are reopened when her family rejects her once again and she finds out that Timothy is in a relationship with someone else. Miriam discovers that the rumors that broke them up three years ago were all lies. However, when Timothy proposes to his girlfriend and Miriam's father disowns her, Miriam returns to Indiana with her heart in shambles. When Miriam's father has a stroke, Miriam returns to Pennsylvania, where her world continues to fall apart, leaving her to question her place in the Amish community and her faith in God.
 
My take on this book:
Miriam Lapp left her Amish community nearly four years ago, when she felt like she no longer belonged. She had been told that her beau Timothy Kauffman was cheating on her, so when an Englishers baby that she was watching dies from SIDS she feels as if everyone blames her and decides the best thing to do is leave. She heads to Indiana hoping for a fresh start. When she receives a call from her sister Hannah telling her that her mother has suddenly passed away she drops everything and goes home, hoping that she can find forgiveness and that her family will welcome her. Instead what she finds is that the only people in her family that welcome her are her married sister Hannah and her spinster aunt Edna, who Miriam stays with when her family doesn't welcome her.. She also learns that the basis of the breakup between her and Timothy were all lies perpetrated by her younger sister Lilly, and those lies have spread throughout the community. When she sees Timothy again she knows that she never stopped loving him, but he is engaged to another, as for Timothy  he knows he still loves Miriam but a promise is a promise so he is determined to see his engagement thru to Naomi.So she heads back to Indiana, but finds she no longer enjoys her life there. When another urgent call from her sister brings her back home, will she finally be reconciled with her family, and what about the relationship between Miriam and Timothy does God have a plan for them, or is it to late?

"A Place Of Peace" is the third book in the Kauffman Amish Bakery Series but in my opinion can easily be read as a stand alone work. I haven't read the first two books and had no problems jumping right into this story. The author does provide us with a family tree at the beginning of the book so that its easy to know who is related to who. The characters come to live in this novel,and are quite believable. Miriam left her home due to lies and misunderstandings, but she gives us a good lesson in forgiveness when she forgives her sister, and even helps her on her journey to find true love.

Fans of Amish fiction will love this story, but anyone looking for a story about second chances and forgiveness should also give it a try. I for one am anxious to read the next book in the series!

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.