About the book-
This is the true story of Ora-Jay and Irene Eash, Amish farmers from northwest Montana whose lives changed in an instant when a semi-truck struck the family buggy, killing their two young daughters.
After the accident, the couple turned to their Amish community for comfort, but they remained haunted by the thought that they might not see their girls again in heaven. Would their deeds be good enough? Eventually Ora-Jay and Irene learned that grace—not works—was enough to ensure their place in eternity. But with that knowledge came the realization that they could no longer live in an Amish community that didn’t share this precious belief. Could they sever their connection to the Amish family they loved?
This is the story of their journey to the hope that is heaven, a hope stronger than the loss of children, family, and a way of life. Fans of Amish fiction will appreciate such a real-life look into the Amish community, co-written by bestselling author Tricia Goyer, and readers of all kinds will resonate with this tale of courage, resilience, and the redemption found in the grace of Jesus.
My thoughts-
I read a lot of Amish fiction and I am pretty interested in the Amish lifestyle and beliefs, so I was interested the minute I heard about this book. A good majority of the Amish fiction I read is written by the wonderful Mrs. Tricia Goyer, so with her name attached, I knew it would be a high quality book. This story is heartbreaking. With each page read, I would feel angrier and angrier for Irene and Ora-Jay and all that they had to go through, but I had to remind myself that their friends and family reacted the way they did because they were raised to react that way. It is difficult enough that the Eashs' lost their daughters, but then to have pretty much no one comforting them the way they needed- I couldn't imagine. The story goes on to tell the story of how they ultimately left the Amish and all they dealt with in the process. I could not put this book down. It is pretty rare for that to happen for me with a non-fiction book, but this I read in two days. I just find it fascinating the way that the Amish react to their own when they don't follow the ways anymore. It is heartbreaking. I think the Amish have a great thing going with their huge sense of community, family and unity. We could certainly learn a lot from them in this regard and I wish we would. There would probably be a whole lot less depression going on. But to me, their downfall is the way they shun and silence members of their church who they feel are going astray From what I read in this book, it seems that Amish people are discouraged from reading the Bible among themselves and I think this is a big part of the problem. They are only allowed to believe what is preached to them and it seems like a good portion of the Bible is left out of these sermons. My heart broke for Ora-Jay and Irene when they struggled so much and had to make a decision between a personal relationship with Jesus or living in the only way they had ever known. The ultimate message in Plain Faith is that Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice and that even the biggest sacrifice you may have to make is absolutely worth it. There is nothing better. The Eashs' know that and I am glad that they found hope in Him. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Amish, or learning about lifestyles or religions different then their own.
Plain Faith is available at Amazon.com and Christian retailers nationwide.
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