If Beverly Lewis is the author, you are assured 100% you will be reading a good book. This one is another in a line of many of excellent stories! The River is a wonderful example that all families have conflicts, even the Amish.
Tilly left her Amish life and married an Englisher. Her sister Ruth also made the choice to leave. She and Tilly have a close bond, but still love and miss their family. Tilly is very happy with her twin girls and her new life. You can only imagine the discord this created with their Amish family.
A brother calls and invites them to come to a celebration of their parent’s anniversary. Due to the difficult relationship with her family, especially her father, both girls decide not to attend. Ruth receives another call telling of their father’s bad health which influences them to go. Having been several years since they have been home, they are understandably anxious about the reception they will receive.
As I read I could actually feel the tension and uneasiness Tilly felt. Some of her family received her with open arms, others were distant, but her Dad was as he had always been toward her, unloving and critical. She was the only child in the family he treated so harshly. She decides to stay and her uncle and aunt’s house to ease the situation. Tilly not only is confronted with her father’s lifetime rejection of her, but also guilt involving the death of her younger sister years ago. She blamed herself for the little one’s drowning, when she was supposed to be watching her.
Misunderstandings and unknown facts can cause a family to fall into a trap of living in conflict, hurting one another, and never experiencing the closeness they could have. Ms. Lewis weaves a beautiful story of a family finding their way back to each other amid great conflict with in and among themselves. Through forgiveness, love, and confronting their inner hearts, they find their way back. The story has many surprises and made me think of how longstanding secrets can cause people to act in ways we don’t understand. You will want to read this book!

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.