The Quieting by Suzanne Woods Fisher

         

     On her Amish Wisdom website Suzanne Woods Fisher explains the concept of quieting. We are all familiar with the Amish custom of shunning, a form of discipline for unrepentant church members. Quieting revokes the ordination of an unrepentant Amish bishop, deacon or minister. It is rarely done, and never taken lightly. The entire Amish community feels the pain of such an action of discipline. Fisher introduced readers to this form of discipline in her first book in The Bishop’s Family series, The Imposter. While reading this second book in the series, I was on pins and needles waiting to see which way the tide would turn and which church leader would undergo the quieting. Would the one deserving of this discipline receive it, or would he be able to manipulate the church members into believing there was another that needed to be the recipient?

     While the community and church leadership dealt with the situation that threatened to split the community, one of the leader’s nieces was dealing with a situation of her own. Driven to complete her ailing father’s genealogy work for Francis Glick in order to pull him from his state of depression, Abigail is pursued by one of the few eligible bachelors in Stoney Ridge. Abigail’s singular focus on her task, lack of social skills and her tendency to take all things literally work to derail the budding relationship. Will she be able to pull herself out of the past to see what is right before her in the present?

     Even if you are not a fan of Amish fiction, but love books where relationships are put to the test and there are deeper lessons to be learned, you will love this series. You may also gain valuable insight into what your own pastor’s life may be like as he works to meet the needs of his church without neglecting the needs of his family. I thank Revell Publishers and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for providing The Quieting for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.