Promise to Cherish

I had a rare moment to read an outstanding novel that shares the love of nursing in a state hospital alongside an Amish man who was sent to the Civilian Public Service Unit during World War II in Promise to Cherish by Elizabeth Byler Younts. There is so much realization poured out in the words you read that you can imagine what it felt like as nurse Christine Freeman tries to find a way to manage the healthcare of so many patients in Hudson River State Hospital. Since so many of the men and women have been called to active duty, there only last resort is to take in the conscientious objectors from the CPS unit. This one filled with Mennonite and Amish young men who are serving their time in the war in obligation to their religious faith.

While some might claim they are dodging their duty by not serving in the war, Eli Brenneman knows it is what he must do even if he is already experiencing his prejudice from the Amish in Sunrise as well. At least this way he is fulfilling his military obligation and not taking lives that go against the Amish faith. Now if he can only manage to convince others of this as well. But the life of aiding the mental patients at Hudson River is something he can do beside digging pointless ditches for the government. From helping them bath, custodial duties, and even keeping patients busy reading to them or playing games makes him feel like he is doing what God has called him to do.

What he isn't prepared for is the attraction he feels towards Christine. Yet he manages to keep his distance because in her eyes, he is one of the reasons her brothers Nathaniel and Peter died, so that men like Eli could avoid going to war in their place. All Christine wants is to find a way to help her struggling family financially since her father was left crippled from the war and unable to find work. She had hoped that one day she might find the perfect man and begin a family of her own, but for now her duties as a shift nurse fulfill that calling. But life is about to change abruptly for both Christine and Eli and ways that neither ever anticipated. For both of them, their lives would never be the same and the hopes and dreams they had will not work out as they had planned.

I received Promise to Cherish by Elizabeth Byler Younts compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own. I absolutely love the blending of WWII and Christian Amish into this wonderful novel. It is the second in the Promise of Sunrise Series and I can't wait for the third book in the series. There is so much detail in the treatment of the patients at Hudson River that you literally feel like you are part of the staff as well. The author utilizes her own families history to breath life into this novel and the result you will find is pure perfection. For lovers of WWII, Christian Amish and of course romance, trust me, this is the novel for you. Even though this is part of a series, each can be read as a stand alone. But once you read this one, you will want to pick up Promise to Return. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and literally read it in one sitting, I simply couldn't put it down.

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Promise to Cherish by Elizabeth Byler Younts

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