Tuesday, May 24, 2011

A Time to Heal by Barbara Cameron



A Time to Heal, by Barbara Cameron

Chris, one of the main characters of this book, had been injured overseas in Afghanistan during the war while in the Marines. He met a woman, Jenny, who was working in the medical unit in Afghanistan during the war as well, who was also injured and was staying in the Veterans Hospital. She is from Paradise, (Lancaster County), Pennsylvania. She is Amish. She told him all about where she was from, that she was Amish, about her family and more. While they had both been recovering from their injuries, he decided he wanted to go and visit the area where she lived as he thought it would be so peaceful it would be the perfect place to finish recovering from his injuries, both physical as well as mental. He had been having flashbacks from the war, PTSD, (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and needed a nice, quiet, peaceful place to fully recover. Throughout the book, he gets flashbacks from the war. Jenny even explains to him he is suffering from PTSD, and exactly what the disorder is.
When he does arrive in Paradise, (Lancaster County), he does end up at Jenny’s parent’s home. Is this a coincidence or is it God at work? He ends up staying at her family's home and helping as a farmhand as well. He likes this. He likes the work very much as well.
It is here that he meets Jenny's sister, Hannah. He found himself starting to have feelings for her that did not go away. He knew he was an 'Outsider', (meaning he is not Amish, nor was he raised Amish,) so would he be accepted by the Amish Community? This even prompted a visit to Hannah’s family from the local Bishop of that community. Did Hannah love him back? Could she love him back since he is an Outsider? He found he was quite able to readjust and follow the Amish ways of life very easily. He was already living the Amish way of life since her arrived in Paradise. He loved being here. He liked everything about being Amish.
Suddenly, bad things start to happen around the farm. He felt responsible because he believed he knew who it was causing these terrible things to happen around the farm, including Hannah being injured very badly. He starts to worry he has brought trouble with him (he thinks he knows who it is that is causing this trouble) and he decides to leave. What about Hannah? He did fall in love with her, was she in love with him? It would be safer for Hannah and her family if he left.
There is more to this story, but I cannot say anymore without giving spoilers. You must read this love story. It is so good! I found myself lost in this story, turning page after page as it was such an enjoyable read.
The author, Barbara Cameron, writes a lovely love story. Her writing is very easy to follow, and very descriptive at that. She paints a picture with her words so well you can easily envision where the characters are at, what they are doing, and the beauty and peacefulness of the land. She is truly talented at this.
In my opinion, I enjoyed this Amish series of books much better than some of the other famous authors who write Amish books. I believe this author is able to mix the old ways of the Amish into the current, modern days of ‘now’ with much more ease and a lot nicer than some of the other authors.
I give this book an overall rating of a 4. The time spent reading this book is very enjoyable and worthwhile to spend at it. I do plan on reading more from this author. I do look forward to her 3rd book in this series.
I received this ebook format to read from United Methodist Publishing House through NetGalley in exchange for a written review. No monies were exchanged whatsoever.
Laurie Carlson

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