Description
"Distler's believable setup and the conflict's resolution make for pleasing reading. This sweet romance will win over fans of Amish and Mennonite fiction." --Publishers Weekly " The Heart Knows the Way Home is a tender, compassionate look at relationships and love in a Mennonite community." --Emily-Jane Hills Orford, Readers' Favorite reviewer The Heart Knows the Way Home is a story I once told myself I'd never pen. Contemporary Plain fiction ranked pretty high on my "Things I'll Never Write" list. As someone who attended an ultra-conservative Mennonite church in my late teens and early twenties, I worried that writing about Plain people would seem like an exploitation of my former church family and those like them. My beliefs are no longer completely in line with theirs, but I would never want to disrespect them in any way.And then God put a story on my heart--this story--and revealed a way that it could benefit the Amish and Mennonite communities. My mind began to change.Several years ago, I learned about Clinic for Special Children (CSC), a nonprofit medical facility in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, that serves children and adults with genetic and other complex medical disorders. Many of CSC's patients are Amish or Mennonite, and this can compound their medical care since the Old Order groups and some of the conservative groups don't carry health insurance. Genetic testing is expensive, let alone lifelong medical care, but the clinic is dedicated to serving their families by providing cutting-edge yet affordable services.As a nonprofit, CSC's ability to operate relies primarily on collaborative funding, benefit auctions and fundraisers, and contributions. In 2019, clinical and lab fees made up only 11 percent of its yearly revenue (2019 Annual &Innovation Report). I've contributed by donating and participating in CSC's annual 5K, but my desire to do more brought a question to my author mind: What if I, through my writing, could bring awareness and even some financial support to CSC? Many readers of Amish and Mennonite fiction have a deep fondness for Plain people and their lifestyle. Knowing that, I suspected that some, if they knew about CSC, would be impelled to support it, knowing their donations would greatly benefit Amish and Mennonite families.With that in mind, I let this story unfold. My prayer is that it blessed you as a reader and will bless CSC by bringing awareness to its mission and through proceeds from this book's sales. If you've bought this book, thank you! A portion of its earnings will be donated to CSC. And if you're inspired to learn more about CSC or to contribute (God bless you!), you can do so by visiting their website. Carry one another's burdens;xa0in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2 CSB) For as long as she canremember, Christy Distler has dreamed her most vivid dreams with her eyes wideopen. Names became people--people who didn't exist in this time and place butcouldn't have been more real in her heart and mind. So she did the onlyrational thing: gave them a voice by writing fiction.Christy's novels, whether historical or contemporary, delve intobetrayal and reconciliation, faith and grace, and always involve theintertwining of cultures. When not writing, she works as an editor forpublishing houses and independent authors.Obsession with words aside, she lives with her husband, children,and dogs in Pennsylvania. Read more
Features & Highlights
- 2021 Best Book Awards Winner
- Sometimes home isn't a place, but a people.
- As children, Janna Carpenter and Luke Martin lived on opposite sides of Division Highway, and that wasn’t the only division in their lives. While he grew up in the
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- —Lancaster County’s Old Order Mennonite community—she was the daughter of a single mother who left her in the care of Luke’s grandmother. For six years Janna found love with the Martins, until her mother abruptly moved them away.
- Now, almost fourteen years later, Janna returns to the area with her daughter. Her hope for a new beginning is lost when they find their home uninhabitable after a storm, then an out-of-gas car leaves them stranded. When two women stop to help, they turn out to be Luke’s aunts, and the Martin family again takes her in.
- Janna and Luke, a widower struggling to balance business and family responsibilities, reacquaint as Janna assists his grandmother and cares for his son. Her self-protective independence and his conservative principles put them at odds, but the difficulties they face draw them closer.
- When long-lost friendship rekindles into unexpected love, will either be willing to make changes so they can be together?
- A portion of the proceeds from each sale will be donated to Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
