Judith Miller's book Somewhere To Belong is the first in a series based upon the Amana colonies in Iowa. The colonies were a group of God fearing people who believed in communal living. Their livelihood came from farming and fabric mills. These people of faith believed in spending as much time as possible in studying the Bible and in prayer. They were assigned jobs by a Bruderrat council; the jobs included working with children, gardening, cooking, working in the mills, stable work, and many other duties. They lived a devout, simple, hard working life.
Johanna had lived all of her life in Main Amana and yearns to see the outside world. She longs to begin her adventure by visiting her brother in Chicago. Berta is a young lady who had lived the life of wealth in Chicago. When Berta's parents decide to move to the colonies, she struggles to adjust to this new life. Johanna is assigned the responsibility of teaching Berta and the adventure begins. Both young ladies discover that not even parents always live a life free of deceit and both learn the importance of truth and honesty.
If you enjoy the Amish books that have become popular, then this book will be one that you appreciate. The link above gives a lot of information on the Amana colony and is quite interesting. Anyone want to visit with me? Honestly I did struggle with hearing some of the requirements the families had to live with in the colonies, but the book was interesting, well written and educational.
Thank you to Bethany House for providing this book for review. 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
No comments:
Post a Comment