Warm Memoir -- Gathering of Sisters

Darla Weaver lives a Plain life that she enjoys with other members of her Old Order Mennonite family. A tradition that she, her mother, her four sisters, and their children hold dear is Tuesday gatherings where they share both the ordinary and the special times of their lives. In Gathering of Sisters, she takes her readers on a journey through many of the happenings of those weekly get-togethers.

Much of the book is a very simple retelling of the conversations and events that happen on those Tuesdays throughout the year, conversations and events that might not be all that different from what any group of sisters would engage in. But Darla's sharing of them provides an opportunity for readers to slow down and reflect on their own day-to-day happenings and the memorable moments in the ordinary times. Throughout her accounts, she also scatters the little lessons that come to mind as she and her family members go about their daily lives.

Gathering of Sisters moves at a very laid-back, relaxing pace, something to soak in slowly while you curl up in your favorite chair. As you read this book, you might pick up some insight into the Old Order Mennonite life but will mostly have the opportunity to just watch life play out in this close-knit family.

Thanks to Audra Jennings PR for providing a copy of this book. I am happy to share my own thoughts in this review.

About the Book:

Spend a day with sisters.

Once a week Darla Weaver bundles her children into the buggy, hitches up her spirited mare, and drives six miles to the farm where she grew up. There she gathers with her four sisters and their children for a day with their mother. In Gathering of Sisters, Weaver writes about her horse-and-buggy Mennonite family and the weekly women’s gatherings that keep them connected. On warm days, the children play and fish and build houses of hay in the barn. In the winter, everyone stays close to the woodstove, with puzzles and games and crocheting. No matter the weather, the Tuesday get-togethers of this Old Order Mennonite family keep them grounded and centered in their love for God and for each other, even when raising an occasional loving but knowing eyebrow at each other.

The rest of the week is full of laundry, and errands, and work that never ends. But Tuesday is about being sisters, daughters, and mothers.

Hear straight from Amish and Mennonite people themselves as they write about their daily lives and deeply rooted faith in the Plainspoken series from Herald Press. Each book includes “A Day in the Life of the Author” and the author’s answers to FAQs about the Amish and Mennonites.

About the Author:

Darla Weaver is a homemaker, gardener, writer and Old Order Mennonite living in the hills of southern Ohio. She is the author of Water My Soul, Many Lighted Windowsand Gathering of Sisters. Weaver has written for Family Life, Ladies Journal, Young Companion, and other magazines for Amish and Old Order Mennonite groups. Before her three children were born she also taught school. Her hobbies are gardening and writing.