A Simple Change-- (book review)

Simple Change, A (Home to Amana)

From the back cover:

She never imagined a simple change could be so complicated...

Middle Amana, Iowa, 1881

When her parents decide to sell their home and move to the Amana Colonies, Jancey Rhoder must make a difficult decision. Should she give up her beloved teaching job and her carefree life in Kansas City to go with them?

Her suitor, Nathan Woodward, doesn't want her to go, but Jancey feels she must give this new life a try. Her mother is sick, and these next few months may be the last Jancey gets to spend with her. But will this move spell the end of her relationship with Nathan? And when life in Amana is far more mysterious and challenging than Jancey expected, will she choose to return to the city, or will she make this unique place her forever home?

My thoughts:

Could you adjust to living within a community with strict rules and a certain way of doing things after living in a community that is radically different and free? That was what Jancey had to do in order to care for her ill mother in Judith Miller's book A Simple Change. Jancey is disenchanted with some things in her regular life and while she has some trouble adjusting to her new simple life, she soon learns to embrace the uniqueness of the simplicity that the Amana colonies offer.

This book struck a cord with me because I am trying and thinking about trying to find more simplicity in my own life. I am being rather unsuccessful at that right now, but I am trying. I don't know that I could ever forgo all of the regular, modern conveniences  of life that I have come to think of as normal. However, I would like to find a balance. I enjoyed this story greatly and was glad that Jancey embraced the simple life and was able to still be herself within the simple life.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher, Bethany House, in exchange for a honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.