Sylvia Fisher's beau Elam finally asked her to marry him, but was she ready to give up everything she loved for him. She loves Elam but has spent most of her life helping her father on the dairy farm even to the extent of making suggestions to improve the farm and her father listened to her. Will Elam be willing to let her have an opinion in their marriage or will he expect her to take on the Old Order Amish role of the woman managing a household and raising babies only. When she finds out that Elam signed a contract with her father to take over half of the farm without asking her, it makes her wonder even more what her role would be in their marriage.
When Sylvia takes too long to give him an answer, Elam marries her sister Becky. Sylvia's father won't let her leave the farm so she stays home but after a dangerous incident she demands that he let her leave. She moves to Michael and Dora Blank's dairy farm to help him. Since she's left home her father refuses to let her have any contact with anyone in her family so she soon feels like Michael and Dora are her family.
The Blank's are in desperate need of help since their son Aaron left several months ago and Michael suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Aaron is an alcoholic, driven to drink by the treatment from his dad after his sister was killed in a freak accident, which they each blames himself for. Aaron gets help for himself and returns home to help his dad and talk his parents into selling the farm. He wants them to help run an Amish appliance store, which he has put money down on to purchase, in three months.
Michael continues to treat Aaron terribly while he accepts the help he is giving them on the farm. Sylvia dislikes Aaron because his plans will ruin her plans to live their and farm, since she feels like she'll never be able to return home again. It is a constant battle, difference of opinions, will any of them ever give in, it seems to be two against one? Will Sylvia ever get to see her parents and sisters again and where will home be for her? When Aaron realizes that Sylvia has become a like a hermit, not going to church, not seeing friends, etc. he forces her to take time off from work which she also resents and thinks he's trying to get her to agree to selling the farm.
Cindy did her usual great job and held my interest and jogged my memory of the first book so I wasn't lost. Sylvia, Michael and Aaron are all three strong willed people with their own plans. I have a lot of family members like that so it hit close to home for me. I read the first book in this series a long time ago, thought I had the second one but discovered I didn't. I plan on going back and reading the second one though. This is a good story about personal struggles and how different personalities deal with them.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BloggingforBooks.org <http://www.waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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