August 12

When the Heart Cries (2006)
By Cindy Woodsmall

Hannah Lapp is a 17-year-old from an Old Order Amish family.  In the first few chapters, it's clear that she is happy and bright, and that family is very important.  She has just secretly accepted her boyfriend, Paul Waddell's, marriage proposal.  Then, while walking home, she is viciously raped by someone outside the community; the community, including her own family, shuns Hannah.  She flees to the home of an aunt in Ohio;  Zabeth had been shunned for her own interest in music.  Through her aunt's love and support, as well as the friendship of Martin Palmer, a young man who is like a son to Zabeth, Hanna finds healing and purpose for life, as she gets a GED and becomes a nurse in a birthing clinic.  The books introduce many of Hannah's friends and siblings and are quite well written.  I could hardly put them down!

When the Heart Cries was so compelling that I quickly read the two sequels, When the Morning Comes and When the Soul Mends.  The three books comprise the "Sisters of the Quilt" series.