Emma Lapp isn’t entirely happy with her life in Lancaster County, doing chores in the farmhouse with her younger brothers and sisters. On her twenty-second birthday she discovers A DAUGHTER’S TRUTH - a shocking, numbing reality. She has been living a lie.

Emma was quite ready to settle down to her own married life whenever a neighbouring lad like Levi Fisher might get interested enough to ask her. But nobody ever does take her home from singing or show an interest in more than her cooking. Now Emma thinks she can understand why, and she is furious with Mamm and Datt for hiding reality from their eldest girl. She is so angry that she jumps on a scooter and heads straight into town, looking for answers among the English community. What she finds will challenge her more severely than anything she has known.

What interests me most about A DAUGHTER’S TRUTH is that the core of the story could have been set anywhere. Communities around the world have hidden inconvenient secrets. By setting her emotional story among the Amish, Laura Bradford adds subtle layers of conflict. As the good folks do not allow photos or phones, Emma’s quest to discover her identity is made more difficult. She doesn’t understand all the legal and societal ramifications of penalizing her parents; she doesn’t know how hard it would be to cut herself out of their lives. Should she move to live a modern life, or are those chores what she wants after all?

Looking at past tragedy and unfairness can leave us feeling bitter, but instead, Laura Bradford guides us to wisdom with a reminder not to make decisions in anger. The past is past, and young Emma has to find a way forward that allows her to live with herself – and her family. A DAUGHTER’S TRUTH immerses us in Pennsylvania life, apple butter, oatmeal cookies and all; rather than a romance tale this could be called women’s fiction. I enjoyed the read and it’s a standalone story.