Review: Love's Journey Home by Kelly Irvin

Kelly Irvin has given us what I would like to consider a real taste of the trials of Amish life. Loss and change come to everyone. It's not so much what happens to us, but how we react to it that makes us who we are.

Love's Journey Home shows us the loss and change in the lives of many characters, but the story revolves around Helen and Gabriel. Their first encounter involved a speeding buggy, a drunken boy, and a small child.

I enjoyed Kelly's insight into the not-so-perfect side of the Amish people. They get angry. They hurt. They mourn. And yet in the midst of that, most continue to trust God.

I thoroughly enjoyed the word-play between Helen and Gabriel, and the end...yes, well, I always enjoy happily-ever-afters. And you know it has one 'cuz I despise books without it. :)

Back cover:

It's been seven years since her husband died, but Helen Crouch is doing just fine. She's selling her jams and canned goods at the bakery and making a tidy living. But her whole world goes topsy-turvy when a new family moves to town. Gabriel Gless has brought his children to Bliss Creek to escape the worldly influences in Indiana. Helen and Gabriel have so much in common--the loss of their beloved spouses, the experience of raising their families alone, their rock-solid faith--so why can't they seem to speak without arguing?

And that's not all that's going on in Bliss Creek this summer. In the middle of a punishing drought, the community is faced with the decision to uproot their families and establish a new settlement. As families struggle to say goodbye, each one must find the faith to follow the Lord's direction.

Rating: 4 stars

Blessings,
Ginger