William and Doretta were supposed to be married in a few days, as William was taking Loretta on a buggy ride, Carmel was startled by a car and the buggy and the car had a head on collision and William was dead and Doretta was in a neck brace and was immobile until her neck and spine healed.
Loretta was healing, but she was deeply grieved and she did not want to see her friends or anyone that she used to know her family was very worried about her.
Eleanor, Lorettas' best friend was concerned too, her husband Vic had gotten depressed and turned to alcohol when his brother had drowned, so Eleanor prayed foe Loretta and encouraged her when she saw her.
Warren, Williams' twin brother missed William, too and he felt sorry for Loretta and wished he could help her feel better, but his friend Margaret wanted his attention too.
Eleanor writes to Loretta and tries to cheer her up and help her to return to God but Loretta keeps herself so busy she ignores Eleanor's advice.
Loretta and Margaret work at Warrens' store after Warren has a serious accident and during his recovery Warren breaks up with Margaret. A secret journal that William had kept emerges that holds the key to a new life....

This was such a good read! Even though it is the second in the series, I did not miss out on anything. When Doretta's fiance is killed days before the wedding and she also is hurt, she must overcome her injuries and depression. Yes, there is a love triangle with the loss, but I loved how the author touched on depression and showed the different ways that Doretta found herself again.

BLURB:
Doretta Schwartz has always enjoyed writing letters and feels her letters can be a bit of a ministry to her friends. In this series, exchanging letters that contain open and honest feelings and struggles helps Doretta and two of her best friends through the darkest challenges of their lives.

A Ministry of Letter Writing Restores Hope to the Writer

Doretta Schwartz used to be so happy and passed her positive attitude along to friends in several letters she wrote each month. But that all changed the day she learned of her fiancé’s death and a heavy weight of depression fell upon her. Feeling empty, she puts away her letter writing and won’t even respond to calls from friends. William’s twin brother, Warren, is also grieving his loss, while at the same time, trying to be supportive to his parents and Doretta. Doretta responds to Warren’s friendship, but is he just becoming a replacement for the once-in-a-lifetime love she lost?

MY REVIEW:
I adore Amish romances and am a huge penpal geek, so this was the perfect merging of two of my loves.

This is such a poignant story, of grief, of faith and of love.

In an instant Doretta’s life was forever altered, and she turned from everything she knew, raging at the injustice of it all. Through it all her friend Eleanor never gives up and never stops writing to her, her letters full of non-judgmental words and encouragement.

Her words are what gives Doretta the strength to continue on, and to hope again.

I really enjoyed this book, and while it is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

I have enjoyed these series in the fine art of letter writing between Amish friends. Eleanor from the first book was finding encouragement from Doretta and now the roles have reversed. Doretta is now finding encouragement from Eleanor thru letter writing. The funny thing about encouragement and giving encouragement is that is may not be received from the recipient. Meaning, when a person is hurting, it is very difficult to process encouragement. Doretta was at the phase. However, a true friend never gives up. I appreciated the painstaking way that this played out. Expectations from both parties is not always met so what do you do.

Doretta was looking forward to being the future wife of William. They had grown up together and with a few days before their wedding, a terrible accident changed everything. It changed Doretta's faith, her demeanor, and her relationships. William's family was also suffering the loss of a son and a brother. His twin brother Warren was especially hurting not only for his brother but for Doretta as well. For as long as he could remember, he had a crush for Doretta.

Their story took on the journey of grief and depression. How each person handles their grief differently and how our relationship with God will heal our hurt and gives us a hope. A very special story indeed.

A special thank you to Barbour Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review