Have you ever been a caregiver? Some people are called to it. Lucy Troyer is one of them. She is on her way to Jacobs Creek to care for her cousin, Mattie Lapp. Mattie is battling cancer. On the train, she meets Calvin Weaver and his little sister, the only other Amish aboard. As the train speeds through a night storm, the overhead lights flicker and finally go out. The train begins to rock and sputter and then comes to a complete stop. Lucy and Calvin learn that it has broken down and they will be transported into Toledo by bus to catch another train for Cleveland.

While waiting six hours for the next train, Lucy, Calvin and Katie, Calvin's little sister, go to the zoo and have a wonderful time. However, on the way back, Calvin sees a horse and carriage and the horse looks in bad need of medical care. He challenges the driver to quit running the horse and see to its needs. As Lucy witnesses this scene where Calvin become angry, she flees in horror of past memories of another angry man, her dead husband, Paul.

Paul and Lucy were married for two years and he abused her most of that time. She could never do anything good enough to please him. His fall from a ladder was an accident, but Lucy cried only tears of relief to have survived the two years and to be out from under the stress. She doesn't think she can ever trust a man again.

Upon arriving in Jacobs Creek, Lucy discovers that Mattie's family lives right next door to the Weaver farm. She cannot avoid seeing Calvin. But she is bound by her duty to care for Mattie and make things as easy as possible while Mattie is going through chemotherapy. And it is a difficult battle. Mattie loses hope and feels that God has left her. Lucy tries to encourage her to be strong and never give up. Is she trying to convince herself also?

Calvin is a patient man and gives Lucy time and space to get to know him and learn that she can trust him. But can Lucy get past the nightmares of the past and forge ahead to the future?

THE CAREGIVER is a powerful story of love, forgiveness, and faith to believe that God has our lives in His control. Lucy's touching story of surviving abuse and still yearning to reach out to others will stir your heart. This is the first book in a new series, Families of Honor, by Shelley Shepard Gray. It is truly inspirational and a must read.