Lakota, Wisc., a place where “the past doesn’t always stay buried,” is a refuge for people who are running from something, “because above all, the locals treasured anonymity, the rare luxury of being left alone. And because they’d been judged harshly all their lives, they made it their business to not judge one another, and to grant anyone who came to town the one freedom Americans typically refused to honor: the freedom to fail without punishment or censure.”
Thomas Kennedy, a veterinarian, had his own reasons to escape his former life and move to Lakota. Now, finding his vocation fulfilled in serving among the local farmers, Thomas feels like he might have found a place to flourish. His life is forever altered when he assists a single mother to give birth to a child weighing 18 pounds. When Gabriel Fisher is born, no one in Lakota could have envisioned the impact his life would have on their small community and on the world.
Raised by Jasper, his older brother, Gabriel exhibits an exceptional gift of communicating with animals. As he grows at an astounding rate, his athletic abilities emerge. Thomas does all he can to help the boy thrive and deal with his huge size, and becomes his mentor. When Jasper dies, Gabriel is taken in by his Amish grandparents, Hannah and Josiah Fisher.
Almost 8 feet tall at 17 years of age, Gabriel is noticed working in a farm field by Trey Beathard, the high school football coach with his own broken past. In time, Gabriel is catapulted into the world of the “English”—non-Amish people—as his high school and, later, college football careers take off. A clash of cultures ensues as many of the values and lifestyle choices of the English are anathema to the Amish.
Gabriel’s grandmother Hannah is devout in her faith yet plagued by doubts and longing to experience the world outside the strictures and confines of her Amish community. As she strives to serve her Lord and Savior, she repeatedly faces her own failures. She does all she can to help Gabriel navigate the culture of his birth and secular culture, but she continually faces her helplessness and grieves Gabriel’s choices. Still, her love for her grandson only intensifies as his struggles cause him, his family, and the community much pain.
Narrated from the perspectives of Thomas Kennedy, Hannah Fisher, Trey Beathard, and Billy Walton, an English bar owner, this heart-rending, beautifully written novel confirms that “the past doesn’t always stay buried” and that the exposure of sinful secrets can, possibly, even miraculously, be encountered with grace and forgiveness. The book includes some profanity and vulgarity.
(St. Martin's Press)