We had most of the books by Christmas Carol Kauffman. Her books were Christian fiction, based on real life accounts of people who often had very difficult lives.
Most of her books are not feel good books, and the endings aren't necessarily satisfying, but because our reading options were limited I still read them often.
Hidden Rainbow was one of my favorites by her. It told the account of a young family finding their Saviour and subsequently having their entire life turned upside down. They finally fled to America for freedom to worship the God they loved.
Search to Belong .... Davy, a little boy who was removed from his mother shortly after he was born and was given a home by a lovely family. He was reunited with his mother in the end.
For One Moment ..... A heavy book following a young man's tumultuous life growing up and then being a part of Hitler's regime. He changed his views on that awful leader, and finally moved to America.
Lucy Winchester ...... I never could see how one woman could possibly bear so much heartache. I hated the ending, but still read the book several times a year.
Light from Heaven ... I first read this book when I was around ten or eleven. I despised Joseph Armstrong's father then, and as I have grown older, I think I loathe him even more. The only redeeming quality about this book is Joseph's mother was a really devout Christian, and through her prayers and shining example Joseph grew up to be a fine young man without the bitterness that could easily, and might I say almost rightfully have come due to his awful father.
Unspoken Love .... Again, another less than heartwarming book. I shed many tears over the ending when the main character died just when I thought things might finally get better for him.
I really don't know why these books are so popular among Amish and Mennonite homes. I feel a certain loyalty towards them because I grew up reading them so often, but even though they are part of our family library I have no desire to read them again.
wow, sound interesting.
ReplyDeleteInteresting if you enjoy fictionalized biographies.
DeleteThese books sounds interesting. Thank you for sharing this post.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
DeleteGoodness. It sounds like such heavy and hard reading for a young person. I grew up with Nancy Drew and the Boxcar Children. Thank you for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
As a young child a lot of it went over my head, but yes, way too heavy for young children.
DeleteI'm glad I found your blog, through the A to Z Challenge. I really enjoyed several of your entries and admit I've always been fascinated by the Amish. Thank you for sharing some of your life's journey with us. Happy blogging! www.dianeweidenbenner.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. Hope you will continue to enjoy your visits here.
DeleteI had to comment after reading your title. As a young teen, I read everyone of Christmas Carol Kauffman's books. It's been many years since I've read them and need to read them again. Light from Heaven was the first book I read. We didn't have tv growing up, so we read a LOT of books after our farm chores were done.
ReplyDeleteBooks were/are a great way to spend time at the end of the day!
DeleteI suspect I would never have become a reader if I had been restricted to those books.
ReplyDeleteJO ON FOOD, LIFE AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE
Loving to read, and not really having any other forms of entertainment will do wonders to make a book readable. :)
DeleteGreat post! I'm off to read the others and catch up. Just signed up to follow by email.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I found you through A to Z!
Trisha Faye
www.vintagedazecolumn.wordpress.com
Welcome, and thanks for signing up to follow.
DeleteI enjoyed your post. I have Mennonite, and Amish Mennonite, and Amish relatives and ancestors, so I feel a connection. I am also doing the A-Z Challenge, but my posts are more pop culture based. I am looking forward to your posts. Thanks! Ellen Smucker Reelfan.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. Interesting about your ancestors.
DeleteSome of these sound pretty traumatic, I can see why you don't want to re-read them but also why they hold a special place in your heart if you read them a lot growing up
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Interesting how that works, isn't it?
DeleteAlthough difficult to read as a young person, it sounds as if you gleaned many lessons on both positive and negative aspects of human nature. Stories like life, don't always have happy endings. Perhaps that is the lesson you were meant to learn and share with us. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSue at CollectInTexas Gal
I read these over and over as well. Especially Lucy Winchester and Light from Heaven. I used to feel so sorry for the wives and children. I haven't read them since I'm older. I wonder if my perspective of them would still be the same. I have a friend who's sister used to live in the house where Light from Heaven took place.
ReplyDeleteI have often wondered about who Joseph was and where it took place. Can you tell me where that house they lived in was?
DeleteWe still have these books, some of them, in our church/school library. When they wear out they will not be replaced. No one ever checks them out anyways. I remember reading a few of them when I was younger. I suppose if I had only a limited access to books I may have read them over, just for something to read, but that was not the case.
ReplyDeleteI can remember having "limited access" to books too! The local library was tiny and had a borrowing limit of 2 books for children. My High school was very new when I started and had far fewer books than any library would have now, but to me it was a treasure trove!
ReplyDeleteNot an author I've heard of. I try not to reread books all that often - they have to be something special for me to do that.
ReplyDeleteThe author's first name is "Christmas"?! Wow. I haven't heard of these books, despite growing up in a religious household. Then again, I was lucky to have access to a local library, even though it was so small I read through all the middle-grade and teen books in less than a year.
ReplyDelete@HeatherJacksonW from
WriteOnSisters - Masterplots from A to Z
I read these books aa well. I remember listening to a sermon at n my uncle's church, and my uncle telling me afterwards that the preacher was Joseph Armstrong. But of course that wasn't his real name and I was young enough that I hadn't caught the name. I would love to know what his real name was.
ReplyDelete