Mary Davis (1) (1963–)

I received this book from a friend. I read the next book in the series prior to this one because I came across that one first. Again, I have to say that this Amish community isn't like any Amish community I've come across in real life. They have electricity in their barn to use for livestock emergencies. They have a phone in their home (even if it is rarely used). Their shunning practices seem haphazard. Amos's cousin is shunned for leaving the Amish community, but an Amish woman could leave, become a doctor, and come back home and be accepted? (To be fair, it is never stated whether she had become a member of the church before she left or not. I suspect not. But then again, it is never stated whether Jesse did that either or why he chose to leave again if he did.)

I liked the third book better than this one. I feel like that one discussed more life lessons than this one did--though there were still some.

Perspective was one. Being able to see a bigger picture than just yourself. Deborah feels alone, excluded. She doesn't realize that her family is dealing with bigger issues and that's why she's often overlooked. Amos has had bad luck with women he wanted to marry and also has been told by his family that he needs to choose a trade because the farm can't be divided into 3 parts. So he is feeling a bit excluded also.

A common theme between this book and the third book is that staying Amish has to come from your desire to do what God wants.

I did get to learn a bit more about Grave's disease from what was happening to Deborah's mother. I too thought it was dementia rather than a symptom.… (meer)