Amish Turns of Time stories focus on specific points or seasons in Amish history that represent crossroads affecting Amish beliefs or history. Please note that while the books are numbered in the order in which they were published, each story is fully independent of all the others. Each book takes place in a different time and setting and features its own characters. So you can enjoy them in any order you please without worrying that you’ve missed something by not starting at the beginning. Delve into Amish history!
Gladden the Heart, book 5 in Amish Turns of Time
1847: The members of the Amish church in the Kishacoquillas Valley of central Pennsylvania don’t know what to make of the Methodist tent revival going on down the road. From the lively singing and impassioned preaching to the altar calls and prayers of salvation, it’s nothing like their solemn ways of worship and tradition. But as some Amish become curious about what’s going on in the tent, them find themselves wondering: What is a genuine spiritual experience?
The question turns personal when Susanna’s beloved cousin Noah begins preaching while under trances and crowds gather daily to watch. Susanna and her intended, Adam, must grapple with whether love is possible if they come to different conclusions.
When the divided community faces a life-or-death situation, they must respond to a crisis that challenges them to look past their differences. But can strong-held opinions be softened by the truths that shape their lives?
Hope in the Land, book 4 in Amish Turns of Time
When Henry Edison turns up in Lancaster County to survey farm women about their domestic contributions during the 1930s, the last thing Amish housewife Gloria Grabill has time for is the government agent’s unending questions. Gloria’s hands are already full with a farm to run alongside her husband, a houseful of children, and an English neighbor, Minerva Swain, who has been trying Gloria’s patience for forty years. Gloria’s oldest daughter, Polly, wants nothing more than the traditional path of an Amish farmer’s wife, but everything she does seems to push Thomas Coblentz further away. While the Great Depression shadows the country in gloom, can Amish and English neighbors in Lancaster County grasp the goodness that will sustain hope?
Brightest and Best, Book 3 in Amish Turns of Time
The collapse of a schoolhouse puts pressure on Amish families and their long-held educational values. Ella Hilty anticipates marrying Gideon Wittner and becoming a mother to his children. In a whirling clash of values, Ella seeks the solid ground that seems to have slipped away. Margaret Simpson, an English schoolteacher, wonders if she is losing her last chance at love. As the local authorities draw lines in the sand, Margaret puts romance at risk one final time. All eyes turn to Ella to make a sacrifice and accept a challenge that can bring unity to the Amish and understanding to the English.
Meek and Mild, Book 2 in Amish Turns of Time
The leadership in an Old Order Amish community requires shunning friends and family whose only offense is to embrace the new Protestant practice of Sunday school among the Mennonites, but teaching Bible stories to children is one of Clara Kuhn’s great joys. Clara’s on the verge of saying yes to Andrew Raber’s marriage proposal, but now he is flagrantly refusing to submit to the bishop’s authority by owning a car. When the lot falls to Moses Beachy to become the new bishop, the community waits for him to take bold steps toward change. Clara and Andrew step together into a more progressive Amish faith as the Beachy Amish take form.
Wonderful Lonesome, Book 1 in Amish Turns of Time
In a struggling Amish settlement on the harsh Colorado plain, Abbie Weaver refuses to concede defeat to hail, drought, and coyotes, even as families begin to give up and return east. The biggest challenge of all is the lack of a spiritual shepherd and regular worship. When Abbie discovers the root of a spiritual divide that runs through the settlement, she faces her own decisions about what she believes. She must choose between a quiet love in her cherished church, passion with a man determined to leave the church, or imagining her life with neither.
