Anna's Healing (Plain and Simple Miracles)

I just finished Vannetta Chapman’s latest book Anna’s Healing. Anna Schwartz has moved from her home in Goshen, Indiana to Cody’s Creek, Oklahoma to live with her Uncle Samuel, Aunt Erin, and her grandmother, Ruth. She is helping with the corn harvest when a tornado touches down. The horses take off and Anna is thrown from the wagon. Jacob Graber, a young Amish man who is a traveling farm worker, finds her first and saves her from the second tornado. Anna is airlifted to Tulsa where it is discovered she has suffered a spinal injury. She has a complete break in her lower spine. The doctor states that she will not be able to walk. Anna is confined to a wheelchair and the family as well as the community work on revamping her Uncle show more Samuel’s home to suit a wheelchair. Anna’s accident turns out to be a blessing for the family. It changes her dour Uncle Samuel and Aunt Erin. They start becoming more sociable, friendly, and a stronger faith.

Anna’s friend, Chloe Roberts is there for Anna. Chloe met Anna while writing an article on produce stands in Amish country for Mayes County Chronicle. They become friends and starting spending more time together. She also introduced Anna to her mother who is involved in making quilts for Project Linus. Anna starts making colorful little quilts for the project. Jacob and Anna grow closer during this time, but Anna does not feel that she would be a good wife. Jacob states he is willing to wait.

Nine months later after being ill for some time and everyone thinking Anna would not recover, Anna wakes up and can move her feet. She gets up and can walk. Everyone is shocked and thrilled. The doctor does a new MRI and Anna is completely recovered. The media flock to her uncle’s farm as well as people who want her to heal them. Is it a miracle? How did it happen? How will this affect Anna’s family and friends?

Anna's Healing is well-written and interesting. Is there such a thing as miracles? The book is heavy on scripture as Anna’s Mammi frequently quotes scripture and prayer. Can prayer and a strong faith make a difference? I did not enjoy Anna’s Healing as well as Vannetta Chapman’s other books. I found some things to be a little odd in the book. For instance they let Anna goes off by herself when people are trying to get her (and they have a Governor’s special task force protecting her and the farm). This book will leave with you questions and you will think about it after you have finished reading the book (which is what books are supposed to do). Some sections in the books were easy to read and others were more difficult (like slogging through a mud pit). Overall, I enjoyed Anna’s Healing and I look forward to reading more books by Vannetta Chapman. I give Anna’s Healing 4 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of Anna’s Healing from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

Anna’s Healing is an awesome page-turner of a read, and one that will linger long after the final page has been turned.
Anna’s is leading an ordinary life as any young Amish woman would, when disaster hits her area in Oklahoma, in the form of tornados. Wandering Amish man Jacob Graber is working at her Uncle Samuel’s farm and happens to find Anna as she lays severely injured on the ground.
From the blip on the back of the book you will know what it about to happen, but the depth and feelings are what makes this story so special. We all would love a Grandmother Ruth, she never left Anna’s side when she became so ill, and smothered her in prayers.
I was not surprised as to what happens when Anna is healed, who wouldn’t hope that show more she was a healer, and flock to her and hope beyond hope that she could save their loved one. What a though provoking and heart rendering book, you will wonder where they can go and find peace again. Be surprised how some of their fellow believers treat her, and yet I shouldn’t be it is quite common. Envy and jealously and questioning why was she healed and not my loved one, and I couldn’t blame them.
Pick this one up and you won’t want it to ever end, a totally enjoyable read.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Harvest House, and was not required to give a positive review. show less

Anna is the main character in this inspiring story about miracles. She has decided to leave her home in Indiana. She travels to Cody's Creek to stay with her aunt, uncle and grandmother. Anna begins to feel like this is where she is suppose to be and starts helping with the garden and selling at the produce stand.

Jacob is a troubled young man. He can't seem to stay in one place for long. He is a hard worker and finds himself in Cody's Creek . He soon finds work on Anna's uncles' farm. The two become friends and perhaps there is a spark of interest between the two. On one particular day while they are working outside a tornado touches down on the farm. Much of their crop is destroyed and Anna has been critically injured.

When Anna's show more receives news that she has been paralyzed from the waist down , her heart sinks. She is use to helping out on the farm.The doctors have told her that she will never walk again. Will her aunt and uncle find her a burden now that she is confined to a wheelchair? Can she find the strength to be happy again?


I won't spoil what the miracle is but I will say that it will have an impact on everyone in the community and sweeps across the country at rapid speed. Have you ever witnessed a miracle? Do you believe in miracles? The story has captured the Amish in beautiful detail. The author is well versed in the Amish and her descriptions are so precise that you can visualize the community and the people as though you are there. I loved the way the author uses the Amish dialect and has helped me to learn a few words. The characters are warm and caring. They have a strong faith which will be tested later in the book. I was surprised that Amish use tractors now for transportation, but with the authors In-depth knowledge of them, I always learn something new while reading her books. I found the book to be very emotional and so well written that I finished it in a few hours. There are a few surprises in the book, which I wasn't expecting. Thank you for a book that captures the lives of the Amish with a warmth and loving attention to detail. As you read the book, don't overlook the mention of an organization that helps children called , The Linus Project.
Overall the book is captivating, emotional , hopeful and above all filled with love and faith. show less

Love Vannetta Chapman!!

Vannetta Chapman has been one of my favorite authors who specializes in novels about relationships between the Amish and Englischers. In Anna's Healing, the first book of the Plain and Simple Miracles series, the action takes place in Oklahoma. A twister causes Anna to become a paraplegic.

The accident changes not only Anna, but everyone around her. Long-held bitterness and hurts begin to be resolved in Anna's relatives and her Englisch friend, Chloe, but Anna struggles for emotional survival.

Grace, forgiveness, and struggling to understand the sovereignty of God are major themes of this moving narrative. Chapman offers forth a beautiful description of how God views the death of His children...that nugget alone show more makes the book worth reading!!

I wish I could meet Anna's mammi. The Amish elderly are both greatly respected and often deserving of that respect. I loved Mammi's wisdom, "I was able to be thankful again, and gratitude will bring healing every time."

As always, I eagerly anticipate Vannetta Chapman's next offering. I gratefully received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

This was a fantastic story. Anna was a happy girl until the tornado went through the town where she was living with her aunt and uncle. She is thrown from the wagon when the tornado hits and her spine is severed. She becomes a paraplegic. She gets very depressed. She is helped through her depression by Chloe, an Englisher, that writes for the local paper. Jacob who fell in love with Anna right before the accident and her grandmother who helps her to keep her faith and her compassionate spirit. There are many twists and turns that the whole family goes through when a miracle happens. Can everyone handle what happens after a miracle? I received this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion.

Excellent new series! Anna has moved to Oklahoma to live with her aunt and uncle. Jacob, who has been traveling around the country, winds up in Oklahoma, where Anna is living. When a tornado hits, Anna is in the field and injured, leaving her a paraplegic.

I fell in love with the people of Cody’s Cove, OK.