The Solace of Water

THE SOLACE OF WATER by ELIZABETH YOUNTS takes place in Pennsylvania in 1956 when racial tensions were running very high in America. In the story we see interaction between an Amish family on the one hand, and a black family on the other, living in a community divided between Amish, "Englishers" and African Americans. Although there are no signs up, as there are in the South, there is still segregation between White and Black.
Malachi and Delilah Evans and their family move to Sinking Creek, where Malachi is to pastor a church, in the hope of starting afresh after losing their young son, Carver.
Delilah, or Deedee as she is called, holds her fourteen year old daughter, Sparrow, responsible for Carver's death. We see how grief takes hold of Deedee to the extent that she really cannot function properly, how she blames Sparrow relentlessly and how her unkindness leads Sparrow, who feels very guilty for not looking after her little brother, to feel unloved and worthless.
Emma Mullet, the wife of an Amish head deacon, also has a great sadness - she cannot get over losing her little daughter. She is lonely and has a hard time covering up her own secret and that of her husband, John. Their son, Johnny, is friends with the wrong crowd and Emma is afraid for her him.
These two unlikely women, unable to get on with the women in their own communities, are drawn to one another. We see their friendship growing, even as they battle to hold to the traditions of their very different churches.
Emma and Sparrow become very close. Emma sees Sparrow as her own daughter and gives her the affection that she has not received from her mother since Carver's drowning. Deedee gives Emma the affection she craves as well.
The pond on Emma's property, and water in general, play a big part in the story. As we see Emma, Deedee and Johnny helping to clean people up and put ointment on their wounds, we are reminded of how the Lord takes us, battered and filthy as we are, washes us clean, and restores us to life in Him.
The story is beautifully told and we really get insight into the struggles that the characters are going through. It is a story of friendship, forgiveness, restoration, accountability, family relationships, making the right choices and the importance of being real and honest with one another.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Heartbreaking, beautiful, and hopeful. This beautifully written historical fiction novel shares the story of two women from very different backgrounds who find hidden pain that connects them both. This will go on my list of favorite books for 2018. Amazing book!

It’s not often that a book sets me back on my heels and makes me really think the way The Solace of Water did. The story starts in the summer of 1956 as Delilah and Malachi Evans set out with their four kids on a journey to their new home in Pennsylvania. Delilah, who describes herself as having skin ‘the same color as the soil,’ resents the move away from friends and family. She especially resents leaving the fresh grave of her young son.

Emma Mullet, mother to Johnny and wife to John, has the soul of a poet trapped in the work-worn body of an Amish woman. She, too, carries sorrows and secrets that weigh her down. When she finds young George Evans lost in the woods near her house, she returns him to his home and her life changes as the fate of the two families intersects in an odd friendship.

Sparrow Evans, eldest daughter of Delilah and Malachi, hates herself and feels responsible for her little brother’s death. She doesn’t just know she’s responsible—her mother tells her that it’s her fault her brother died. Her mother’s grief changes her in profound ways that Sparrow cannot understand or cope with.

Although told in the present, the narrators keep poking sticks at the wounds in each character’s past, drawing the reader in to their present pain. Multi-generational points of view keep the narrative fresh and accessible to readers of all ages (teen and up).

This is a book to buy and place on my ‘read it again’ shelf. If I really like someone, I’d probably let them borrow it.