The Heirloom:

(Prequel to The Shunning, An Amish Christian Fiction Book)

September 12, 2023

This heartwarming prequel to The Shunning is a tender story of love, belonging, and the courage to move forward.

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 quite ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband spent over fifty 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 with her and giving Clara an opportunity to meet the area's eligible young men. But when the unexpected happens, will Clara find where her heart truly belongs?

My thoughts: The Heirloom goes back in time to before Ms. Lewiss's best selling series Theom Shunning. We revisit some favorite characters from the past. The book started slow and draggy and it took me awhile to get into but eventually I did and I enjoyed getting to know Clara and renewing aquaitences with Katie Lapp and others. If you like Amish fiction you will enjoy THE HEIRLOOM. Grab your copy now. I was given a copy free and all opinions are my own.