The Peacemakers

“Manny and his family, their Mennonite community, and how their values shaped their response to the Civil War in Virginia made for a compelling story. Fourteen-year-old Manny had three men for role models—his father, his uncle and his grandfather. While his grandfather was old enough to escape fighting, his father and uncle were tracked down and forced to fight.

Historical fiction is the way to make history come alive—The Peacemakers takes us back to Harrisonburg, Virginia, during President Lincoln’s presidency and the recruitment of soldiers in the south to fight for the confederacy. Slavery, religious beliefs, voting rights and gender roles are among the issues that make this story ripe for young readers and a school classroom studying the evolution of America.”
—CARRIE COOPER, Dean of University Libraries, William & Mary

“The Peacemakers is an engaging piece of historical fiction that will rivet the attention of young readers—as well as adults—while also challenging them to reflect on their own convictions regarding issues of war and peace. Set within 1861 Virginia, at the start of the Civil War, the book illuminates a part of Confederate history that is often overlooked. The story of Anabaptists who are committed to Christ’s way of peace and justice, in the midst of an unaccepting and often hostile response from the broader world, is one that still resonates today.”
—RICHARD BLACKBURN, Director Emeritus and Senior Consultant, Lombard Mennonite Peace Center

“An interesting piece of our nation’s history through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old boy, Manny Weaver. His conflicts with faith, family, and inevitable circumstances of the early Civil War as a Mennonite youth in Virginia, as the state secedes from the Union, brings to light a missing piece of understanding the hardships and struggles of a faith-driven group of peaceful citizens. A must in any middle school library.”
—GARRY JACKSON, Teacher, Secondary Literacy/Curriculum Trainer and Administrator, Kenton County School District, Kenton County, Kentucky

“Rebecca Lindsay has interwoven strong historical research with a compelling story of peaceful resistance during the upheaval of the Civil War in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. A captivating read for young adult and adult readers alike.”
—BRIDGET B. STRIKER, Local History Coordinator, Boone County Public Library System, Boone County, Kentucky

“The Peacemakers is a hard book to lay down. It reads quickly, drawing the reader into the thickets of dilemmas that Mennonites faced during the worst days of the American Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Manny Weaver, fourteen, had to watch when both his uncle and father were taken away into the desperate Confederate war efforts. During the war in the Shenandoah Valley, for the peace-minded Mennonites, there were no easy answers of how to respond. They faced excruciating dilemmas of faith and conscience. Manny grew up quickly, growing into a young man in the vortex of war. …

The Peacemakers is a book that youth will want to read, to learn from, and to enter into the story of faith and war-time challenges of a terrible war that ripped the country apart in the mid-19th century. I recommend this book for students and adults alike. It’s great reading!”
—ELWOOD E. YODER, History and Bible Teacher at Eastern Mennonite School, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Editor, Shenandoah Mennonite Historian

Shadelandhouse Modern Press hosted a virtual book launch (Zoom) and author interview in November 2020. We have employed social media, the publisher's website, email marketing, and submissions for reviews from the publishing industry, librarians, and experts in the subject matter fields related to this historical novel. We have also submitted the book for consideration to 2021 book festivals. We continue to develop our marketing plan for The Peacemakers and for the author Rebecca Sutter Lindsay.