Waves of Mercy by Lynn Austin

From the publisher:

Geesje de Jonge crossed the ocean at age seventeen with her parents and a small group of immigrants from the Netherlands to settle in the Michigan wilderness. Fifty years later, in 1897, she's asked to write a memoir of her early experiences as the town celebrates its anniversary. Reluctant at first, she soon uncovers memories and emotions hidden all these years, including the story of her one true love.

At the nearby Hotel Ottawa Resort on the shore of Lake Michigan, twenty-three-year-old Anna Nicholson is trying to ease the pain of a broken engagement to a wealthy Chicago banker. But her time of introspection is disturbed after a violent storm aboard a steamship stirs up memories of a childhood nightmare. As more memories and dreams surface, Anna begins to question who she is and whether she wants to return to her wealthy life in Chicago. When she befriends a young seminary student who is working at the hotel for the summer, she finds herself asking him all the questions that have been troubling her.

Neither Geesje nor Anna, who are different in every possible way, can foresee the life-altering surprises awaiting them before the summer ends.

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This period of history is not something I have read a lot about but my heart resonated with the immigrants from the Netherlands as my heritage is from the Netherlands.  To read the history and lives of these strong and beautiful people was an honor. 

Lynn Austin is an author who writes real life.  Her stories are ones that show the pain of life, the struggles of faith, and the love of God that holds onto us even when we ignore Him.

This isn't the story where life is tied up in a neat bow at the end of it.  It is a story of struggle and heartache.  Yet, isn't that where so many of us are?  In the midst of pain and suffer that we cry out to God for direction and comfort? 

Anna and Geesje are woman who have been disappointed with love, faith, and life but they continue despite it all.  The journey that they take you on will not be easy but it can give you hope.  With Lynn Austin's masterful storytelling the lives of Anna and Geesje will come to life and in their stories I believe many will find hope for themselves.

I highly recommend you taking this journey with Anna and Geesje.

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.