Hannah is a widowed lady of nearly fifty, with most of her
children married and gone. Finding her daughter Susanna
has vanished at night is a real scare for her, because
Susanna has Down's Syndrome. Trusting the Lord will
forgive her state of dress, Hannah runs down the country
road in search of her daughter.
HANNAH'S COURTSHIP begins that night, though she doesn't
realise it for a while. A Mennonite neighbour, Albert
Hartman, who is the local veterinarian finds the missing
Susanna and walks Hannah home. He had too much study and
effort in qualifying and setting up his practice to find
the right lady and marry. Now in his fifties, he thinks his
life is missing a family. Hannah teaches school - while
this job is usually for Amish maidens, she needed work
after her husband's death. Young Susanna left the house to
meet a local boy who also has Down's, called David. While
their parents love these children dearly, what can their
future hold?
I liked to see that Hannah also runs a community library
from an outbuilding, and I really enjoyed the introduction
of alpacas to the story. These gentle creatures are prized
for their wool, which some Amish ladies spin and weave. An
aunt driving up in her buggy is enough to make Hannah's
day, because with this by-chance chaperone she is able to
invite Albert to join her for dinner. In this fashion we
come to understand the customs which guide these dignified
people's lives. An entertaining twist comes when each
unmarried lady prepares a supper basket for a school fund-
raising auction and whoever buys it may join the lady to
share the meal. Guessing which basket Hannah has sent,
several farmers bid - but is it her farmland acres that
really interest them?
Courtship has different meanings to different cultures.
While we might think the rules strict for mature persons,
Hannah has followed them all her life. In school we see
that a pink lunchbox is not allowed because all children
have to have black ones. Hannah believes that all little
girls really want to be exactly like their friends. She's
wrong, in my case certainly, and this does seem like
curtailing freedom of expression. I was pleased to see that
the children get to visit a zoo. Emma Miller has tried to
present several sides of the issue in this informative,
pleasant romance, which brings more than a few dilemmas
during HANNAH'S COURTSHIP.
Amish widow Hannah Yoder never intended to marry again. Yet
when her friendship with veterinarian Albert Hartman begins
to bloom into something more, Hannah wonders if perhaps
she's finally ready for a new love. Albert waited his whole
life to find the right woman, only to realize Hannah was
there all along. But there's more than their friendship to
consider. Albert is a Mennonite, born-and-bred, and Hannah
cannot—will not—leave her Amish faith, not even for him.
Does Albert have the courage to give up his modern life for
Hannah…and will Hannah have the courage to let him?
Hannah's Daughters: Seeking love, family and faith in Amish
country.
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