Beverly Lewis is the most gifted of authors, and The Parting is a marvelous story with deep spiritual
significance. The characters contained within the pages of this book came alive to me and seemed more real than
fiction. I walked away from this book feeling as though I actually knew the characters personally - they are so
well-developed and written. I enjoyed reading The Parting and highly recommend it to others.
Nellie Mae Fisher lives in the Amish community of Honeybrook in Lancaster County, PA. She bakes for the
family’s bakery shop called "Nellie's Simple Sweets." The shop was named for her, because she runs it almost
single-handedly.
It's been three months since Nellie Mae's younger sister, Suzy, drowned. Suzy was eleven months younger than
Nellie Mae and was only sixteen years old when she died. Suzy's death placed a huge burden upon the family.
According to the Amish belief system, if you die before being baptised and joining the church, you are damned
for eternity. Suzy had not yet reached the age of baptism and church membership.
According to the "Ordnung", the rules and traditions handed down among the Amish People for generations,
baptism into the church is essential for any hope of heaven. Some of the brethren are not seeing eye to eye on
the Ordnung, with several talking about tractors, electricity, and cars. This is causing divisions among the
brethren. How far will the disagreement over the Ordnung spread?
Nellie Mae's parents and most of her siblings come to know Jesus Christ and begin studying the Bible. This is
strictly forbidden by the Ordnung; the Bishop sanctions only certain chapters of the Bible to be read by the
People. But following the old ways was not fulfilling for the spirit.
There were rumors floating around the rumor mill about Suzy's "rumschpringe," the running around years. Nellie
Mae reads Suzy's diary to understand the path Suzy chose to take over the last months of her life and is surprised
at what she learns about her sister.
Nellie Mae is being courted by Caleb Yoder. They are in love and plan to marry, but will their love be divided
by the Old Way and the New Way? Will lightning strike and tear the People right down the middle? Will Nellie Mae
and Caleb sustain their love for each other?