My Review of When the Soul Mends

Here's the description from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group: "Returning to the home she fled in disgrace, will Hannah find healing for the wounds of the past?

After receiving a desperate and confusing call from her sister, Hannah Lapp reluctantly returns to the Old Order Amish community of her Pennsylvania childhood.

Having fled in disgrace more than two years earlier, she finally has settled into a satisfying role in the Englischer world. She also has found love and a new family with the wealthy Martin Palmer and the children she is helping him raise. But almost immediately after her arrival in Owl’s Perch, the disapproval of those who ostracized her, including her headstrong father, reopens old wounds.

As Hannah is thrown together with former fiancé Paul Waddell to work for her sister Sarah’s mental health, hidden truths surface about events during Hannah’s absence, and she faces an agonizing decision. Will she choose the Englischer world and the man who restored her hope, or will she heed the call to return to the Plain Life–and perhaps to her first love?

When the Soul Mends is the third and final book in the Sisters of the Quilt series."

My Rating: Summer

My Review:
This book shares a powerful story of healing and hope after deep suffering. The author’s writing style, as well as her apparent knowledge of the different worlds (Amish, Mennonite, and Englischer) contained within the story, made this an engaging read. Each character had his or her own problems, sorrows, and pain—making each one of them true to life.

Although I did not read the first two books in this series, the author included enough back-story to make the book stand on its own. Of course, I’m sure that the book would be that much more powerful if read after finishing the first two in the series, but I don’t think it is necessary in order to become invested in the story and learn from it.

With past and future forced to reconcile, this book drew me in and held my interest. I was moved by the characters’ hurt, saddened by their brokenness, and touched by their ultimate hope and perseverance. It’s easy to see why this is a New York Times bestseller!

*With thanks to the author for my copy of the book, which I won on the Seekerville blog.*