The Beginning

Written by Beverly Lewis

Narrated by Leah Horowitz

"I wish there was something I could do," Cousin Verena said, her voice cracking.

"But what?" Susie whispered, wiping her eyes. "The boy I've always loved thinks of me as his sister … and always has."

Susie Mast's Amish life in Lancaster County has been shaped by events beyond her control, with the tragic deaths of her Dat and close-in-age brother casting long shadows. Now twenty-two, Susie remains unmarried despite her longtime affection for friend Obie Yoder.

Unfortunately, her concerns are soon multiplied due to her mother's worsening health and her younger sister's urgent desire for answers about her adoption.

Once again, Susie faces the possibility of loss. Will long-held family secrets and missed opportunities dim Susie's hopes for the future? Or is what seems like the end only the beginning?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705039069

Beverly Lewis

Beverly Lewis (beverlylewis.com), born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, has more than 19 million books in print. Her stories have been published in 12 languages and have regularly appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today. Beverly and her husband, David, live in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, making music, and spending time with their family.

Reviews for The Beginning

[judyg54 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have read the Karen Kingsbury story, The Bridge, last year and loved it. So I was excited to get the short story, The Beginning, because it is a prequel to The Bridge. It was so good to remember Donna and Charlie Barton, the owners of the bookstore called The Bridge. It was good to go back and read how each of them came to find one another, fall in love and start their dream of a bookstore. This is a very short story, but full of warm memories and precious moments in their life. Charlie made Donna laugh, I liked that about him; and they both loved to read, so starting a bookstore seemed the right thing to do. They will suffer a great loss in their marriage, but they were hoping that through the bookstore they could be a part of changing and helping others and that then their pain would start to grow dim. God would begin to heal them and then use them. As Charlie prayed that "the Lord might bring people who needed something to get them from the pain of yesterday to the possibility of tomorrow. People who needed God and the two of them." You will also meet Edna from the book The Bridge and see how the scrapbook got started that will tell and show people down through the years how much of a difference The Barton's made in the lifes of so many. This was so good, it makes me want to get out "The Bridge" and read it all over again!

[lauramoore_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Bridge was my first Karen Kingsbury book, and I loved it so much, I was so happy to find out that there was a prequel story, because I didn't get enough from the Bridge, I didn't want it to end. I really hope and pray she makes this a series, I could read about these characters forever, I loved them all, and what book lover dosent love a book about books!! As far as this being a prequel story, You can definitely read this after reading The Bridge as well. It does dig a little deeper into the characters that are in The Bridge but there's nothing you'd need to know from this book that would ruin The Bridge for you without having read it beforehand. I know Karen Kingsbury is a huge name in Literature, and I'm extremely late to the party, but if her other books are as compelling as this short story, and book combined, then I definitely will be reading a lot more from her.

[Donna Larson Christian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a great story. So very well written and read. I love the complexity of the story and how you wove the Lord into all of it. LOVE your writing!!!

[kevin shumway · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a storyline written with a great amount of thought! What a good read!

[jenniferrobb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This short piece was included at the back of the book "The Bridge". It tells the story of Donna and Charlie--briefly explaining how they met, their pregnancy and loss of the baby, and how it drove them to open the bookstore. It also tells the story of Edna and Tom--well, mostly of Edna because she's a widow by the time she meets Donna. Edna is one of the early customers of the bookstore and also the person who gifted Donna and Charlie the scrapbook that features in the book "The Bridge"--in fact, Edna's picture is the first one put in the book. It's not the best writing. There's a lot of telling rather than showing and a lot of summary narration.

[maydacat_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Susie had the weight of the world on her young shoulders. Concern about her mam’s worsening health as well as earning enough money to pay for food keeps her hopping. She still misses her dat and her brother Eli, but at least she has her adopted younger sister Britta to help share the load. She has also leaned on her longtime friend Obie, but his departure to become an apprentice to his uncle is eminent. Britta is longing to find out more about her birth mother, but people who know are reluctant to say much. It’s quite an interesting story, with characters to match, and written by a masterful Amish storyteller. There are some surprises at the end which hopefully will lead to a sequel.