Celebrate Lit / October 2, 2019

Stitches in Time

Celebrate Lit Book Tour

About the Book Stitches in Time

Book: Stitches in Time

Author: Suzanne Woods Fisher

Genre: Contemporary Amish fiction

Release Date: October 1, 2019

Detachment had worked well as a life strategy for horse trainer Sam Schrock. Until he met Mollie Graber . . .

New to Stoney Ridge, schoolteacher Mollie has come to town for a fresh start. Aware of how fleeting and fragile life is, she wants to live it boldly and bravely. When Luke Schrock, new to his role as deacon, asks the church to take in foster girls from a group home, she’s the first to raise her hand. The power of love, she believes, can pick up the dropped stitches in a child’s heart and knit them back together.

Mollie envisions sleepovers and pillow fights. What the 11-year-old twins bring to her home is anything but. Visits from the sheriff at midnight. Phone calls from the school truancy officer. And then the most humiliating moment of all: the girls accuse Mollie of drug addiction.

There’s only one thing that breaks through the girls’ hard shell–an interest in horses. Reluctantly and skeptically, Sam Schrock gets drawn into Mollie’s chaotic life. What he didn’t expect was for love to knit together the dropped stitches in his own heart . . . just in time.

Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you back to the little Amish church of Stoney Ridge for a touching story of the power of love.

Click here to get your copy!

My thoughts on Stitches in Time:

I love this series. I’ve been in love with this Amish community for years, ever since the first book that introduced them. Reading each new book is liking going home to some of my favorite friends.

Luke had such a wild childhood. He was always up to something and cared nothing about who he hurt in the process. Luke flat out didn’t think about how his actions might hurt someone else or what the consequences to others might be. He was searching for something that remained ever elusive to him.

And then he changed.

With his change he found God, he found love with Izzy, and now he’s found the lot as a Deacon. Of course, no one can believe it! Who could be worse for the choice of deacon?! He doesn’t think he’s qualified and yet David says that’s exactly why he is one of the best for the job.

Izzy isn’t happy about this new life course. She’s still trying to find herself and grow closer to God after her own upbringing. New to the Amish, Izzy still has a lot of healing and learning to do.

When Luke goes gung-ho on keeping a promise he made to rid the county of children in foster care things get heated fast. Many in the community aren’t supportive. Izzy isn’t even supportive. She feels it’s an attack on her as she just wants to move forward and not have those memories of her own time in the foster care system.

Izzy is adamant that she will not have anything to do with a foster child and Luke better not bring one home, but Fern has one. Can Izzy let go of some of her reserves and actually talk to Cassidy? What about her mother? Can Izzy finally quit searching for the love she has always wanted from her mother?

This book is so so good. Izzy and Luke are two of my favorite characters but I’m loving getting to know Molly as well. Sam is also another character I’m liking meeting. He’s been in all the books but never as one of the main characters and finding out his nature is definitely fun. Sam is very gifted not only with horses but wayward foster children as well.

Can Sam help Molly gain control of the twins before it’s too late? Will Molly suffer a health crisis or is that all just worry?

Definitely a great book and I highly recommend not only this book but the series. I also recommend you read book one first as it definitely gives you the back story and will help you better understand the dynamics of the community.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of Stitches in Time

Carol-award winner Suzanne Woods Fisher writes untold stories about inspiring people. With over one million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is the bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction, ranging from Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World to the historical novel Anna’s Crossing.

More from Suzanne

Have you ever felt the tug to become a foster parent?

On any given day, there are nearly 438,000 children in foster care in the United States. Most states have a critical need for more foster parents, and the number of children placed in foster care increases yearly.

There are plenty of assumptions about having foster children, but most are incorrect. The media has a tendency to focus on the negative, but from all the research I conducted to write this book, for every bad news story, there were two good ones. Good stories just don’t make the news.

Below are some of the most common assumptions about foster care, with corrected information that is applicable across the United States (but keep in mind that each state has their own requirements).

Myth: Kids in foster care are bad or troubled.

Truth: Children in foster care are good kids taken out of a troubled situation. They need a caring foster parent who is patient and understanding. When given the opportunity, most of these children begin to thrive.

Myth: To be a foster parent, you need to be married and own a home and be a college graduate.

Truth: You don’t need to be married or to own a home or even be a college graduate. That means if you’re single or renting, you can be a foster parent.

Myth: I can’t afford to be a foster parent.

Truth: There are monthly reimbursement rates for children in foster care based on the level of care you provide. Medical and dental care is paid through state Medicaid programs.

Myth: Most kids in foster care are teenagers.

Truth: The average age of a child entering foster care is seven years old.

Myth: Most kids are in foster care because their parents have abused drugs.

Truth: Now, this one is not a myth. It’s true. There are fifteen categories that can be responsible for a child’s removal from a home. Drug abuse from a parent has had the largest percentage increase.

Myth: Fostering could require a commitment until the child turns eighteen.

Truth: Generally, children remain in state care for less than two years. Only six percent spend five or more years in foster care.

Myth: It’s too hard to give a child up to his biological family.

Truth: Most children are in foster care for a short time, returning to their biological families. Reuniting a child to his family is the ideal situation. Foster families provide a safe haven for a child. Healthy grieving is to be expected, but it’s for the right reasons. It’s healthy.

Myth: You can’t adopt foster children.

Truth: In 2016, more than 65,000 children—whose mothers and fathers parental rights were legally terminated—waiting to be adopted. Also in 2016, more than 20,000 children “aged out” of foster care without permanent families. Research has shown that those who leave care without being linked to a “forever family” have a higher likelihood than the general youth population to experience homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration as adults.

Is there room in your heart and family for a child in need? There are many ways to get involved, some that do not even require foster care. One recommendation: volunteer with The National CASA Association (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for Children. You can find out more information here: www.casaforchildren.org.

Or consider small ways to connect to children in need—after school tutoring at your public library. Volunteering at a community center. Buy Christmas gifts for a family in need through an Adopt-a-Family program with a local church. Support a family who does provide foster care with respites—babysitting or meals. There are many ways to get involved to care for children in need. And every little bit makes a difference.