A Mother’s Secret By: Amy Clipston

I loved this story by Amy Clipston. Carolyn Lapp lives with her Amish family. She had a child out of wedlock when she was a teenager. She has been apologizing and defending her son ever since. Her son is now 15 years old and Carolyn is ready to find love. But is there a man who will look past her mistake and see her for who she is?

Joshua Glick was in love with his brother’s wife. When he died and his wife moved away, Joshua didn’t think he’d fall in love again. Then he meets Carolyn. He thinks her son is her nephew. Joshua’s mother wants him to date another girl Lena. Will he find true love or will he settle for the girl his mother wants him to marry?

Carolyn has a hard time forgiving herself for what she did. God and the church have forgiven her, but people who don’t know her past judge her when they find out. You can’t let a past mistake ruin your whole life. Joshua trusts Carolyn with his past, but Carolyn can’t trust him with her future. Once he finds out the truth about Benjamin her son, she is afraid he won’t like her anymore. She thinks maybe she should settle for a marriage of convenience with Saul instead of a marriage filled with love.

Forgiveness is a powerful thing. God forgives us, but we have a hard time forgiving ourselves, especially when we have others reminding us of how we’ve fallen short. Will Joshua take a chance on love? Will Carolyn decide to marry someone who knows about her son instead of taking a chance on love? You’ll have to read the story to find out!

I look forward to reading more books by this author. The Amish came to life in this story and I loved the characters. It was a well-rounded story, getting to know Carolyn’s family and Joshua’s. I felt like I was living in this Amish community while reading this story.