Caroline's Secret, by Amy Lillard

Amy Lillard is a new author for me, but I have always enjoyed reading stories about the Amish and their way of life. In this installment, Caroline and her daughter Emma have moved to Oklahoma to Well's Landing, an Amish community. They hope to start their lives a new with a new home, a new community and having left the past behind.

Enter Andrew Fitch, an Englisher, who moves to Well's landing to work for his uncle. He is also looking for a fresh start as a widower. He just needs to leave the past and forge a new life. Little does he realize that it will involve an Amish woman and her daughter.

But Caroline has a secret from her past that needs to come out. This secret can mean the difference between starting over or living with guilt and bitterness.

Amy Lillard explores issues of Forgiveness, Grace and Mercy. She explores our need to express our hurts, our pasts, our disappointments and live life in the present not the past or the future.

I enjoyed the book very much. It is a bit predictable, as many Amish stories are, but still this one is fresh and new and the underlying issues that are explored make it very worth the reading.