No
Longer A Child of Promise
By
Amanda Farmer
Genre:
Nonfiction, Family
Book
Description
This
sequel to If
You Leave This Farm chronicles
the life adventures of this young Mennonite lady who, after choosing
to walk away from her father’s farm at age 29, is now free to make
her own choices as an adult. Amanda shares the joy of discovering the
world away from the farm, of falling in love, and about her decision
to eventually leave the Mennonite church. But that freedom and joy is
tainted by the continuing intertwined and overpowering conflicts that
result from unspoken and unresolved expectations in her family of
origin.
With
an engaging style,
Amanda provides an honest glimpse into her roller coaster journey of
hope and love alternating with pain, hurt and bitterness as a result
of misplaced familial values, favoritism, and the effect of the
ultimate rejection – disinheritance by her parents.
No
Longer a Child of Promise vividly
portrays
the struggle in one woman’s heart to grasp the meaning of
forgiveness, to experience triumph and acceptance in her personal
journey, and to eventually release the all-consuming pain of
rejection in her heart to God.
Excerpt
Pappy
and Mama left yesterday. I groan when the alarm goes off. It has been
a long time since I crawled out of bed at four o’clock in the
morning. I have still been coming every other weekend or so to help
milk and take care of the calves, but I don’t usually get up until
six o’clock. I let Pappy, Paul, and whatever hired man they might
have at the moment do the getting up early. The deliciousness of
sleep has begun to erode my guilt-induced drive to continue to try to
prove my worth as a good daughter and sister. Ultimately, the only
reason I am here this week is that I still believe that the ticket to
any acceptance in this family is based on my willingness to
contribute to the workload.
The
eastern sky is starting to lighten as I begin the milking chores.
Just like
old times. The
smell of freshly mown hay hangs in the still morning air and touches
my nostrils as I walk to the house after milking. I stir up the usual
oatmeal breakfast for Paul. I’m not really sure why I even agreed
to do this. Since the departures of both Joe and me from the farm,
Paul pretty much ignores me. He acts like I am in the way. He talks
to me in grunts and only when truly necessary. We eat breakfast in
silence, and then he is gone.
As
I wash the dishes, I hear the tractor come roaring around by the
garage. The baler is hooked behind and ready to go. Soon Paul’s
tall, thin frame appears in the doorway. His green eyes are piercing,
and his body is always in motion, radiating nervous energy.
“So
are you going to drive the baler for me?” The words are thrown my
way.
I
am startled by his impromptu request, but I am here to help so I nod.
The
sun beats upon my head as the tractor creeps along the disappearing
row of sun-dried hay. I rock rhythmically back and forth as the
machine gobbles up the fodder into its mouth and pounds it into
little green bales. The baler then spits them out the back onto the
ground. Paul speeds around behind me with the bale wagon, picking up
the cow food for the winter and delivering it to the barn. Everything
is still done at high speed. As we work, my thoughts wander. I
wonder when he is going to get over being mad at me for leaving the
farm. I wish we could just move on and be friends again. My
face and arms turn a deep shade of brown from the mixture of sun and
dirt. By one o’clock in the afternoon, we are both getting hungry
so it is time to stop and make dinner.
Author
Bio
Amanda
Farmer was born in Pennsylvania and moved with her family to
Minnesota at age 16. She lived and worked on the farm until age 29.
Amanda earned a master's degree in Nurse Anesthesia in 2007 and
currently works in that profession. She enjoys reading, writing, and
most any outdoor activity. She and her husband of 24 years live on a
hobby farm in southeastern Minnesota. They have one college-age
daughter, 2 cats, a dog, a multitude of fish, and once spent all
their profit on 2 horses. All the animals were obtained in response
to
"P-l-e-a-se Mom!"
Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/farmgirlwriter5
Website: www.farmgirlwriter.com
On
B&N: http://bit.ly/1T0TNjX
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