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Leslie Gould joins us on the show this week to talk about her new book, By Evening’s Light. We discuss how war affected the Anabaptists, what her inspiration for the book and the series was, and what an urban hike is. Patrons get to find out what she would miss most if she lived as an Amish woman.
By Evening’s Light by Leslie Gould
Treva Zimmerman finds herself at a crossroads in life after a heartbreaking failed relationship. Returning to Lancaster County to visit her Amish grandparents and elderly aunt, Treva plans to leave her Plain heritage behind for a fresh start in Alaska. Torn between the expectations of her community and her own desires, she seeks to follow her own path–but all that changes when her aunt Rosene suffers a heart attack.
As her aunt recounts her own past–a poignant journey through Cold War Germany and a fervent desire to escape her Plain life to search for a lost love–Treva is determined to discover the whereabouts of Rosene’s former sweetheart. Amid the turmoil, their former farmhand Gabe Johnson returns unexpectedly, throwing Treva’s plans into further disarray.
While working hard to save the farm and explore her own destiny, Treva confronts her deep-rooted ties to her heritage and must decide if she will embrace her family’s legacy or break free from the pressures of her past to forge a life of her own.
Get your copy of By Evening’s Light by Leslie Gould.
Get book one in the series, A Brighter Dawn.
Get book two of the series, This Passing Hour.
What Readers Are Saying:
“Fantastic finale of the Amish Memories Series. We get the full story of sweet Aunt Rosene and her time in Germany during WW2. We see how the anabaptists during that time in Germany felt about the Nazis and the Russians. This book filled my history loving soul with new information from that era and I enjoyed the dual timelines in both eras. The characters are heartwarming and the romance at the end was a fun surprise.”
“I honestly didn’t want this book to end. It was that good. I have read almost every novel this author has written and enjoy them all. But this story, in some ways reminiscent of Fiddler on the Roof, is filled with likeable characters and adventure and romance. There’s nothing especially predictable about the roads the Zimmerman girls will take, but all three of them find meaning and fulfillment as they trust God to lead them along. (As an added bonus, enjoy the story of Zeke and Rosene!) Gould always finds fresh ways to make her Amish/Mennonite timeslip stories current and relevant.”
More about Leslie:
My strongest memories from childhood include stories of hope and grace—and how those stories connected me to family and friends. I also soaked up stories of redemption in the small-town churches we attended.
Even though I knew I wanted to write fiction by the time I was in the sixth grade, as I grew older I pursued other things, such as majoring in history and communications, working as a museum curator, then as a public relations specialist, and finally as a magazine editor. Once I finally started writing fiction, it was another ten years until I sold my first novel. Soon after, I received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, which allowed me to teach writing at a local university besides writing novels full-time.
I’ve written a large collection of dual-time, Amish, and contemporary novels, set in a variety of places—from the Pacific Northwest to Amish Country to France to Vietnam.
My husband, Peter, and I have been married forty-one years and have four adult children and two grandchildren. We live in Portland, Oregon and enjoy traveling, urban hikes, and hanging out with family and friends!