The Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall

From The Back Of The Bridge Of Peace

Lena Kauffman is a young Old Order Amish schoolteacher who has dealt all her life with attention raised by a noticeable birthmark on her cheek. Having learned to move past the stares and whispers, Lena channels her zest for living into her love of teaching. But tensions mount as she is challenged to work with a rebellious young man and deal with several crises at the schoolhouse that threaten her other students. Her lack of submission and use of ideas that don’t line up with the Old Ways strengthen the school board’s case as they begin to believe that Lena is behind all the trouble.

One member of the school board, Grey Graber, feels trapped by his own stifling circumstances. His wife, Elsie, has shut him out of her life, and he doesn’t know how long he can continue to live as if nothing is wrong. As the two finally come to a place of working toward a better marriage, tragedy befalls their family.

Lena and Grey have been life-long friends, but their relationship begins to crumble amidst unsettling deceptions, propelling each of them to finally face their own secrets. Can they both find a way past their losses and discover the strength to build a new bridge?

My Thoughts On The Bridge Of Peace

The Bridge of Peace is the second book in the “Ada’s House” series and I am disappointed I have not read the first.  While I wasn’t lost and was able to catch up to who is who real fast I am disappointed because this was a great book and I am sure that The Bridge of Peace has followed suit.

While this is an Amish fiction story, I felt that it had more components than most Amish fiction I read.  I found it dealt a lot with modern day subjects such as bullying and alcohol.  These effects are not seen as much in an Amish community from the outside at least and I have yet to come across them in literary terms.  The Bridge of Peacedoes deal with the privacy and secrecy in an Amish marriage and the toils that they struggle with within that sanction.  There was a lot of insight into how the Amish community deals with modern problems.

While Lena was born with a birthmark that could stop many from living life to the fullest, Lena refuses to let this stop her.  She becomes a remarkable teacher, wife and women who knows that God has a calling for her.  I found this to be a great message that followed along with the teaching aspects of this book.  We all have imperfections that we must overcome, while some are noticeable and others are not, we have them.  No matter the situation we must hold our head high and make the best of what we are given.

This was a great Amish Fiction book that had so many qualities and learning aspects that I don’t normally see in this line of writing.  I loved it and found that it would be useful for anybody to gain insight into our own reservations and thoughts.

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