When the Soul Mends

When I first began to read When the Soul Mends, I was intrigued. How did Hannah, an Old Order Amish woman, work as a nurse? Why was she living "fancy"? What was her "disgrace"?What were these events that kept being alluded to? Why? Who? What?

Then I got frustrated. Perhaps a book not as well-written would not bother me so much. I decided I needed to read the others in the series to really understand what was going on, to know what the events leading up to this book were. Thankfully, my local library had them, so I went to get them and dive in.

I was not disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed this Sisters of the Quilt trilogy. Thought-provoking, educational without being didactic, characters who are wonderful . . . they are terrific!

While it is possible to read book 3 on its own, I highly recommend reading books 1 and 2 first.

I think fans of Beverly Lewis's Amish books will like Cindy Woodsmall's Sisters of the Quilt series.

Publisher's Summary: 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 two years earlier, she finally has found a satisfying role in the Englischer world, as well as love with Martin Palmer, a man with whom she can safely entrust her heart. But almost immediately after her arrival in Owl’s Perch, the disapproval of those who ostracized her reopens old wounds.

As Hannah is thrown together with former fiancé Paul Waddell to work for her sister Sarah’s mental health, unexpected truths surface about the 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?

This intriguing final novel in the Sisters of the Quilt series is richly textured with authentic details drawn from the author’s real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families.

Edited to add: I am donating my copy of this book to my library, so that many other readers can read all three of the Sisters of the Quilt series.