The Rescued (26 page)

Dear Reader
,

The Rescued
is the second book in my Amish series Keepers of the Promise, in which three cousins are drawn by their grandmother into helping preserve the story of their Amish family in America. Each book combines a story from the present with one from an important point in the past of the Amish community.

In the fall of 1953, more than one hundred Amish parents were arrested for their refusal to send their fourteen-year-old children to a consolidated high school. This stark fact became the jumping-off point for my story. The writer is faced with a difficult dilemma in creating a novel around a historical event. In order to imagine Mattie's story, I have fictionalized the events, compressing the time period in which they occurred, but I hope I've succeeded in creating the feelings of real people when their beliefs run counter to those of the prevailing culture. The Amish struggle to educate their children as they saw fit took place over many years and finally culminated in a case before the Supreme Court in 1972, which affirmed their rights.

I would love to hear your thoughts on my book. If you'd care to write to me, I'd be happy to reply with a signed bookmark or bookplate and my brochure of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. You can find me on the Web at martaperry.com, follow me on Facebook at facebook.com/MartaPerryBooks, e-mail me at [email protected], or write to me in care of Berkley Publicity Department, Penguin Random House, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.

Blessings,

Marta
Perry

Don't miss the first book in the

Keepers of the Promise

series by Marta Perry

Available now wherever books are sold and as an eBook

THE FORGIVEN

“Skillfully weaves the past and present in a heart-stirring tale.”

—Susan Meissner, author of
A Fall of Marigolds
and
Secrets of a Charmed Life

When three women, all cousins, are given the task of sorting through the treasures of several generations of their Amish family, they each discover a story from the past that provides insights and inspiration for their own lives.

Central Pennsylvania, current day
. Since her husband passed away, Rebecca Fisher has struggled to raise two children and keep her home. Renting her stable to carpenter Matthew Byler offers a partial solution—even though Matthew has a troubled history, having sometimes failed to embrace Amish beliefs. As Matthew seeks to prove himself, Rebecca realizes how dependent she has become on others. Where can she find the courage to grow and change?

Lancaster County, 1941
. As war threatens, Anna Esch pours her experiences into her diary. Her world seems to crumble as neighbors turn against the Amish and her love, Jacob, is sent to a camp far away for refusing to fight. She can't know, as she grows from a girl into a woman during a time of trouble and grief, that one day another Amish woman will gain strength from the words she writes and will learn that she, too, can become a keeper of the
promise.

Available April 2016

THE REBEL

Book Three in the Keepers of the Promise series by Marta Perry

A modern-day Amish woman who is struggling to find contentment in the Plain world learns about her grandmother's reluctance in 1960 to leave her familiar home, and is inspired to embrace a future she never expected . . .

Barbie Lapp's zest for life has won her friends among both the Amish and Englisch. But her longing for adventure makes her doubt her future among the Plain people. When she rescues a similarly rebellious Amish teen headed for trouble, Barbie meets the girl's brother, Benuel Kauffman, a widowed minister with an unbending sense of right and wrong. Despite the mutual attraction that flares between them, both Barbie and Benuel are convinced that they are the last people who could ever share a future together.

Unexpected guidance comes from Barbie's grandmother Elizabeth Lapp, who faced her own crisis decades ago when outside pressure on her Amish community challenged their way of life and prompted her and her husband to consider leaving everything behind for a new start. As the two women explore the contents of Elizabeth's old dower chest, Barbie begins to gain insights into where her heart truly lies . . .

Available wherever books and eBooks are sold

martaperry.com
penguin.com

A lifetime spent in rural Pennsylvania and her own Pennsylvania Dutch roots led
Marta Perry
to write about the Plain People who add to the rich heritage of her home state. She is the author of more than fifty inspirational romance novels and lives with her husband in a century-old farmhouse.

Visit the author online at martaperry.com and facebook.com/
MartaPerryBooks.

Looking for more?
Visit Penguin.com for more about this author and a complete list of their books.
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