Monday, May 24, 2021

The Refuge by Ann H. Gabhart

 

Book Description:  When Darcie and Walter Goodwin hear of a new cholera epidemic sweeping the area, they join the Shakers whose villages seem immune to the disease. It's meant to be a temporary stay, but Walter is killed in a riverboat accident. With no family and no money, Darcie has little choice but to stay with the Shakers. To complicate matters, she is expecting a baby conceived before she and her husband came to the Shaker village. Marital relationships are considered sinful in this celibate community, putting Darcie in a unique--and lonely--position. Can the arrival of widower Flynn Keller and his headstrong daughter offer Darcie the hope of happiness . . . and family?

My Thoughts:  I've read very little about the Shaker community so I found this book thoroughly enjoyable.  
Darcie and Walter Goodwin are tying to escape the cholera epidemic so they go to a Shaker community.  Not intending to stay with the Shakers indefinitely this is meant to be a short stay but, unfortunately, Walter is killed.  So with no where else to go Darcie decides to stay with the Shakers.
Now that Darcie is with the Shakers she finds out that she is pregnant.  And the baby was conceived before she and her husband came to be with the Shakers.
But the Shakers see martial relationships as sinful...so poor Darcie is all alone.  The Shakers want Darcie to be her baby's sister but Darcie wants to be a mother.  She tries to be brave but with a baby coming she does have a few worries.  
And then a widower, Flynn Keller and his daughter show up at the Shaker community.
As much as I enjoyed this read I couldn't quite grasp why the Shakers didn't want people to be married and have kids.  Ann Gabhart does an excellent job of portraying the Shakers.
A well written story of faith and hope even when all seems lost.



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