The Caregiver by Shelley Shephard Gray

The Caregiver by Shelley Shephard Gray

From goodreads.com:

Two lives converge one stormy night on a train headed to cleveland

Lucy is traveling by herself via train to Jacob's Crossing to help care for her cousin Mattie, recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Trying to overcome the sudden death of her husband, she's glad to get away and focus on someone else for a while.

The only other Amish people on the train are Calvin Weaver and his little sister, Katie. When their train breaks down outside of Cleveland, Calvin and Lucy band together to face the outside world. But Calvin also carries the weight of past hurts. When an altercation brings both their wounds to light, they question whether they can trust each other.

Once in Jacob's Crossing, Lucy is occupied with caring for Mattie, while Calvin does his best to run his family's farm. But they can't stop thinking about those special hours spent together. Will the bond they formed last? And will Lucy and Calvin be able to put away the pain in their pasts to recognize the happiness that is suddenly in their grasp?

My Take: I Love Amish fiction and have just recently discovered Shelley Shephard Gray. I am so gald that I did. I read her book Grace this past Christmas season and fell in love with her honest straight forward story telling. so when I got the chance to read and review the first book in her newest series I jumped at the chance.

Lucy Troyer is traveling on a train to go help her cousin Mattie who has been diagnosis with breast cancer. Lucy's husband has recently passed away and she is trying to cope with his death. She is also trying to cope with events that happened during her marriage.

On the train Lucy meets Calvin and his sister Katie. Calvin is also trying to overcome a recent situation in his life. He had gone to visit his uncle John who had left the Amish life for the more modern English ways. John has decided to return to Jacob's Crossing to reconnect with his family.

The rest of the book is how each of the characters deals with their individual situations and how they affect themselves and the others around them.

I like the way the Shelley Shephard Gray makes each of her Amish characters into people that we can relate to. To often, I think we think of the Amish as people who are somehow above us and that every day things don't affect them. This book focuses on two aspects that I have never read in Amish fiction before, Cancer and spousal abuse. the only thing that I wondered about was how easily John came back to the town. He must not have been shunned when he left the Amish because there was no consequences when he was around.

I look forward to reading The Protector, book 2 in the series, which is coming out this summer.