Unto Others book review

Unto Others by Samantha J. Bayarr

Book Review 

This book may be difficult for some to read as it was for me at points.  Samantha J. Bayarr writes this prequel to The Little Wildflower series to explain how Jane and her family came to the Amish community.  The events that came before their joining the Amish community are painful ones.  Jane's mother is an alcoholic and is highly abusive to the family.  She is especially abusive to Jane and her sister, Nadine, and baby Lucy.   Jane finds refuge with Bradley when he visits his grandmother each summer.   He gives her hope when he introduces her to a loving God and gives her a Bible and teaches her how to read and study it and how to pray.   

For me, this book dredged up painful memories of my own.  My own father was an alcoholic and it can be a painful, lonely existence for families. I want to add that my own father did seek treatment and recovery through AA and intensive hospitalization.   There was forgiveness and healing in our family and that is the hope that God can give us.  My own family worked together all through the years to love and support each other in many difficult situations. My mother worked very hard at holding things together and I feel compassion for any one who is dealing with alcoholism.  I am thankful for the family that God blessed me with and the home he placed me in! There is often a sense of shame for families, as Jane experiences in the book.  I know that God certainly kept me alive and  filled with hope.   As a young child, I was saved and all through out my life, God was always there with His loving arms wrapped around me.   It saddened me that Jane lived for so many years in the alcoholic home without knowing that same warm assurance of God's love.  I am glad that she found it later and that the Amish community helped to save her mother and ultimately, her entire family!   

About the Author

Samantha Jillian Bayarr founded Livingston Hall Publishers in 2002. Named for her great, great grandfather, Edward Livingston Hall, who owned a publishing house in the 1800's, until his passing; Samantha resurrected this legacy as a way of honoring him for passing onto her his love for the written word. Working in the production aspect of publishing has provided her with the expertise needed to produce develop and design books from the inside out. When it came time to publish her own work, her experience in the field lent her the ability to produce several genres, specializing in Amish Romance. Her first book, Little Wild Flower, an Amish Romance, was borne from her up-close encounters with the Amish community she lived near in Indiana until 1995 when she moved to Florida.

Check out Samantha's website:  http://livingstonhallpublishers.blogspot.com

What I love about Samantha is that she interacts with her loyal followers on facebook as we chat together on Whoopie Pie Club or Amish Literature Fans or All Things Amish.  She works diligently to write, edit, and research but she is approachable and I truly find that refreshing.