A Shining Light by Judith Miller

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A Shining Light by Judith Miller.

From the back cover...

The kind people of Amana have been her guiding light, but her greatest trial is yet to come....

West Amana, Iowa, 1890

After Andrea Wilson receives the devastating news that her husband has been lost at sea, she returns home to Iowa with her young son, Lukas.  But what she finds there causes more heartache: The family farm has burned and her father has died, leaving Andrea with nothing.

Andrea must rely on the kindness of the people from the nearby Amana village who invited her to stay with them for a time.  She discovers much generosity and contentment among the Amanans-especially from the tinsmith, Dirk Knefler, who takes her some under this wing.  But is the simple, cloistered life in Amana what Andrea wants for Lukas's future? Is she willing to give up the comforts and freedom of the outside world? and when yet another round of shocking news comes her way, will Andrea ever be able to find the serenity and hope that have eluded her for so long?

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I have only read one other book about the Amana Colonies besides this one.  I am fascinated by their way of life.  They live with no money of their own and the colonists take care of one another as one huge family. 

In A Shining Light, Andrea and her son are outsiders who find their selves accepted as colonists in West Amana.  Andrea comes from a very abusive marriage. Her husband has been lost at sea and she returns to the only home she has every know to find that her father has died while she was away in Maryland. After the colonists find Andrea and Lukas living in the barn on what she thought was her father's land, they take them back to the colonies and allow them to live as they do. Andrea works in the Kitchen house and her son goes to school and helps out at the tinsmith's after school.  Before long Andrea finds herself falling in love with Dirk, the tinsmith. Then, along come problems to stand in their way. Even though these people live a simple life, there are lots of interesting things that happen in the book to keep you wanting to read more.  Judith Miller writes with such detail that you feel like you are there watching the story unfold instead of reading it in a book.

You can find out more about Judith Miller and her books on her Website.

Have a great day.