Dreaming of a Father’s Love by Sharon A. Lavy

Dreaming of a Father’s Love

by Sharon A. Lavy

A Tale from the Ohio Valley

Description:

Sara Brubaker was two years old when an Old German Baptist Brethren couple adopted her. She has become a beautiful woman, and works as a secretary for Alexander’s. Now she’s torn between wanting to live in the normal world of fun and fashion, or joining the Dunkards, sometimes called Old Orders, to truly belong with her adoptive family. But does she really want to look … Amish?

Birdie Alexander thinks if she works at the family business hard enough and long enough she will gain her father’s love. Can she learn a thing or two from the German Baptist secretary?

Irene West is Birdie’s lifelong Sunday school friend. Irene misses having a father figure around, and is very boy crazy, which causes Birdie to struggle with the friendship and Irene to struggle with life.

Birdie thinks it’s her job to shame Irene into acting more like a “Christian”. Will Birdie overcome her self-righteous nature before it’s too late–for Irene?

My Review: ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

This story is set in the early 1970s and is about three young women who seek the love of a father. Birdie has always wanted to run the family greenery business, but her father insists she go to college instead and praises her brother’s contributions. Sarah is adopted by a German Baptist family and seeks her birth parents and a life that is not as strict as her upbringing, but she is torn between seeking her adoptive parents’ approval and finding her own way. Irene misses having a father around and flirts with every boy she meets. Tragedy strikes, and all three women struggle to find love from their earthly father as well as their Heavenly Father. This is a heartwarming novel about finding the love we all crave. It is a relaxing read and starts slow which is not my favorite style, but I still enjoyed the story once I got into it. I also enjoyed learning about the German Baptist culture and about architecture and horticulture in Ohio. Keep a hanky available. It’s a tearjerker. But the ending was very satisfying.