Guest post by novelist Amy Clipston. Amy shares about her new book, A Place of Peace, in the normal type below; and in the Bold type, she shares about life events which have laid this story on her heart.

A Place of Peace is the third installment of my Kauffman Amish Bakery Series, featuring an Amish family in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

My fascination with the Amish way of life began after my father, a German immigrant, told me that the Amish speak the same dialect as my German relatives. I visited Lancaster as a child, and their culture made an impression on me.

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In A Place of Peace, tragedy brings Miriam Lapp back to her family’s Amish community, the place where she left her family, here identity, and her heart.

Amidst Miriam’s grief over her mother’s death, and the consequences of painful lies from her past, Miriam is forced to face the people who rejected her. Losing her one-time fiancé and being shunned by her father becomes an excruciating test of her faith.

An Amish friend assists me with my research, and she is a true inspiration to me. She lives with her husband and seven children on a dairy farm. One time when I visited her, I sat in her kitchen for more than two hours while we talked. Three of her children were there, and she never raised her voice or lost patience with them.

From her I’ve learned to be more patient and also more faithful and hopeful about stress in my life, such as my husband’s illness. She’s had some health challenges of her own and with one of her children, and her faith is strong and unending. Of course, I often go back to my bad habits, but when I talk to her or receive a letter from her, I feel a sense of peace and a reminder of how I should be.

Miriam’s former fiancé is Timothy Kauffman, who is deeply wounded by his failed relationship with Miriam Lapp. Miriam had moved to Indiana without any explanation, believing that Timothy and her own family had turned against her when a baby she was caring for died.

Now Miriam is unsure of herself and her place in the Amish community. Her heart was broken when she left Timothy and her family three years ago. Miriam and Timothy’s journey toward reconciliation involves many complications, surprises, twists, and turns. I’ll hint at one of these turns: there is a subplot about a girl who needs a liver transplant.

I’m passionate about organ donation since my husband is on dialysis and awaiting a second kidney transplant. He received a kidney from his brother and it failed after only four years. I hope this story inspires readers to become organ donors.

A Place of Peace is dedicated to my father, who passed away in October. I’m thankful that he led me to my Amish research and he supported my dream of seeing my name on the cover of a book.