CHRISTMAS AT HARMONY HILL (ANN H. GABHART)

 

 

Story Description:

 

Baker Publishing Group|September 15, 2013|Hardcover|ISBN: 978-0-8007-1982-1

 

It is 1864 and the nation is still torn apart by civil war when Heather Worth discovers she is with child.  She has been working as a laundress with her husband’s army unit, but when the army gets orders to march south to Tennessee, Gideon insists Heather go home to have their child under safer conditions.  Heather agrees, but returns home to another kind of devastation – deaths in the family and a father who refuses to forgive her for marrying a Yankee.  With nowhere else to turn, Heather seeks refuge at the Shaker Village of Harmony Hill, where her great aunt Sophrena lives.  There, after many peaceful years at Harmony Hill, Sophrena is having doubts about her Shaker path.  Both women are in need of love and forgiveness – whether given or received.  With Christmas coming, can the miracle of a new life fill their hearts with unexpected joy? 

 

Ann H.Gabhart’s many fans will be thrilled to return to Harmony Hill at Christmastime for this stirring story of healing and hope.

 

My Review:

 

Heather Worth is a washerwoman for the men in the war.  Following along with her husband, Gideon’s unit, she struggles day after day with the loads of trousers and coats that become filthy from crawling and laying on the ground.  It is 1864 and the nation is torn apart by Civil war, but Heather’s choice to become a laundry woman allows her to stay by her beloved husband’s side. 

 

Soon Heather discovers she is pregnant and Gideon does not want his child being born on a battlefield so he sends Heather home to her mother so she can help birth her baby. 

 

After a long and arduous journey, the family farm comes into view.  Sitting on the porch is her father who was not happy to see her and turned her away.  He was an angry and embittered man.  With nowhere else to turn, Heather ends up at Harmony Hill, a Shaker Village where her great aunt Sophrena is a sister.  Heather doesn’t understand their strange beliefs or their strange ways, but they take her in and are kind to her.  She longs for the peace she sees in this strange community, but can this longing really be fulfilled amid these people with their peculiar beliefs about family?

 

As Christmas draws near, the joy of a new life and the love that is born of forgiveness may hold the answer. 

 

Christmas at Harmony Hill is a story of love, family, hope, and healing.  I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and read it in one sitting, I just couldn’t put it down. 

 

“Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”