Never Far from Home

Miller Family #2

by Mary Ellis

Mary Ellis follows her captivating "Widow's Hope" with a new story from the heart of Holmes County, Ohio. In "Never Far From Home," fifteen-year-old Emma Miller finishes school, starts her own wool business, and is longing for someone to court. When the object of her affection is a handsome English sheep farmer, with a fast truck and modern methods, her deacon father, Simon, knows he has more than the farm alliance to worry about.

Emma isn't the only one with longings in Holmes County. Her aunt Hannah wants a baby and her uncle Seth hopes he'll reap financial rewards when he takes a risk with his harvest. But are these the dreams God has for this Amish family? With engaging interactions and thoughtful characters, Ellis weaves a story about waiting for God's timing and discovering that the dreams planted close to home can grow a lasting harvest of hope and love.

Genres: Amish, Amish Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Christian, Religion

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 10, 2009

About the author

Mary Ellis is a former schoolteacher turned USA Today bestselling author who’s written twenty-six novels including Amish fiction, historical romance, and suspense. Her first mystery, Midnight on the Mississippi, was a finalist for the RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Award and a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award. Her latest book is One for the Road from the Bourbon Tour Mysteries from Severn House. One Hundred Proof Murder releases August 31, 2021. Her latest Amish novella is Missing at Amazon Kindle. She enjoys gardening and bicycling and lives in Ohio with her husband and dog. www.maryellis.net or www.facebook.com/Mary.Ellis.Author

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the way things worked out for Emma. God is so much bigger than one denomination. Praise God for that! Very good!

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the: "Miller Family Series" and was just as wonderful as the first: "A Widow's Hope."

In this second instalment we continue to follow the lives of Hannah and Seth Miller and Emma Miller, the eldest daughter of Julia and Seth Miller who is the county's Deacon in their old Amish order.

Emma, an industrious, self-motivated young woman of sixteen announces to her parents that she wants to take her "...full rumschpringe". At sixteen, girls can date, attend approved get-togethers, singings, parties and the like. They usually have a rumschpringe for two years during which time they hope to meet and become engaged to the man they will marry. It's a very worrying time for the Amish parent and they, of course, expect that their daughter will date someone within their own district and order but this doesn't always happen and can have disastrous affects for the young woman taking her rumschpringe and for her family and community. For if she marries "outside" their order the girl is "shunned" by her own family, deacons, and community never being allowed to see them again, as ordained according to the beliefs of their Ordnung.

Sixteen-year-old Emma is also running her own "wool" business using wool she shears from her sheep on the farm and hopes to sell it on consignment to a woman in a nearby town that owns and runs a yarn/craft store.

When Emma meets an "Englischer" and declares her intention to "date" him, the family isn't happy, not only because it goes against the Ordnung, but also because her Father Simon is a Deacon. How is it going to look for a Deacon's daughter to be disobeying the laws of the Ordnung?

Meanwhile, on top of everything that is going on with Emma, the Miller family is praying and hoping for Julia, Emma's Mom, who is suffering from a debilatating disease. The pain this poor woman endures on a daily basis is excrutiating and unrelenting. Then, we have poor Hannah, Julia's sister, who is desperately trying to have a baby and is having a difficult time month after month of being disappointed, while at the same time her husband Seth has gone ahead and made some changes to their harvest without consulting with Hannah first!

Will this turnn out to be a disaster? Will Hannah ever become pregnant with a baby? And what will become of poor Emma and the Englischer she is so much in love with? Will God intervene and provide what each asks and prays for or do the family wait for His will to be done?

A charming, hopeful story filled with love, tribulation and overcoming the tough times and learning to wait for God!

[Paula-O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never Far from Home(Miller Family series)book#2,by Mary Ellis


this was a quick read and I loved the characters ,Emma Miller is a young girl of 16 and as most amish families do, she was a hard worker. She is about to leave her childhood and find many things that will make her feel "Out of sorts".
there is two brothers Seth and Simon and their wives that round out the story. One is a deacon and the father of Emma.
Emma meets a young man who is a "Englisher" who she befriends when she learns he is a sheep farmer and she loves the sheep they have on her dads farm. Of course his being a handsome young man with plenty of charm doesn't hut either.
This story will tell us about the anguish in a family when a young girl in her rumpspring time wants to let an "englisher" court her

[Anne Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second book in the series focused on Emma Miller. Emma is the oldest child of Julia and Simon. She is very close to her Aunt Hannah who gave her some sheep since Emma is interested in weaving. Emma also makes hand made wreaths, and like Hannah, is able to bring them to a store in town that sells them. One day, Emma meets an Englisher, James Davis, a sheep farmer who also brings wool to the shop. A friendship starts, and the two soon go to several outings. James is friends with an Amish boy, Sam Yoder, who knows what events are going on.
Emma’s parents, of course, do not want her courting an Englisher, no matter how nice he is. Emma announces to her parents surprise that she wants to go on Rumschpringe, so she feels it will be a time when she finds out whether she wants to become English or stay Amish. As time goes on, James and Emma fall in love, and James even proposes marriage. But when James goes to college to make his parents happy, and Emma sees more of what the English world is like, a decision has to be made. Emma ends the relationship to her parents’ relief.
When a terrible buggy accident occurs, things turn out differently. James correctly senses that the accident involved Emma, and immediately talks to her father at the scene and reassures Emma things will be ok. He visits her regularly as she gets better. James and Emma talk about the future. They meet half way when James will become New Order Amish and Emma will leave the Old Order. Emma’a parents approve and if things go as planned, they will marry in two years.
Hannah is finally pregnant. Leah has dreams of owning a restaurant.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is part 2 of The Miller Family Series. Emma decides as she turns 16 to start her rumspringa early so she can pursue an Englisha boy. Her parents allow it then forbid her to court. But an accident changes many lives. I am enjoying this series and look forward to more. Mary Ellis has developed her character very well, I recommend this book and the series.

[Maddie L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my 2nd all time favorite Amish fiction read- Emma’s story had me intrigued all the way from the beginning to the end, she definitely deserves another book in the series!! I also enjoyed her budding romance with Jamie, and how sweet and kindhearted he was to her. Furthermore, Emma’s relationship with her Aunt Hannah, her parents, sister, and her friend Sarah☺️

[Christine Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of the Amish Miller Family series, this second book was a continuation of the family and a nice addition to the story. I enjoyed this one.

[ANNETTE · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the author does a good job bringing the Englisher and Amish together to overcome a relationship .A good story about faith and ability to follow God.

[Neva Womack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this well written beautiful story of romance and love of family.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good - continuation of Miller family - Emma and James

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amish inspirational romance.

[Gwendolyn Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seemed to be a young adult read and somewhat corny. I did though learn more about Amish life.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series! Plan on reading the next two.

[Larisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the 2nd Mary Ellis book I've read, and there's good characters, story, and I am enjoying being part of this Miller family as they are growing up!

[DJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a story!

I have read dozens of Amish novels, but I love surprises — and this story definitely has some unique qualities about it…

For example, Seth seems like an ordinary Amish widower when we meet him in A Widow’s Hope, but in Never Far From Home, we get a totally different idea of who he is — and how his life seems to be changing, since his marriage to Hannah.

Yes, he’s following the Ordnung rules — and one of these rules speaks of living within your means and not planting more than your family and community needs — yet Seth is determined to sell off livestock and deplete their savings (much of which came from the sale of Hannah’s previous home) to lease acreage and plant corn — in the hopes that his crop will yield a huge profit.

Of course, he’s not wanting to “get rich quick” like most of us would be thinking about; he’s wanting to help fill the now-depleted community medical fund. Yet he’s taking chances that are causing troubles with his wife — and his brother. Thankfully, he begins to listen to his wife – and his brother — and when trouble comes, he’s ready to face it, with his wife’s love and support.

And Emma… who doesn’t listen to the wise counsel of her family — and gets involved with an Englischer!

Mary Ellis writes about such wonderful families — not just their joys and the good times – but the problems, trials, setbacks — all the makings of real life.

Join me in reading about Hannah and Seth, Julia and Simon, all the children… you can pick up Never Far From Home and catch up easily — or go back and read A Widow’s Hope if you haven’t had a chance yet.

One word of advice… you might need a few tissues before you’re done.

Now I’m ready to move ahead… with The Way to a Man’s Heart — and it’s time to lose myself in Holmes County, Ohio… again.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my blog...[return]Never Far From Home is the second book in The Miller Family Series by Mary Ellis, and is a rather charming novel about Amish families and life along with their joys and troubles. Emma Miller has recently turned 16 and she has informed her parents she fully intends to take her year of Rumschpringe, much to the dismay of Simon and Julia. Emma's aunt Hannah has noticed her young niece pining after a young sheep farmer, the problem is James Davis is an Englischer. Hannah barely has time to worry too much about her niece since she is having troubles in her own home. Her husband Seth took all of her savings and invested the money without discussing his plans with Hannah. Hannah is struggling to learn to give up her independence, independence she had to learn after her first husband passed away. While Hannah and Seth work on their relationship, Emma is learning to deal with her feelings, her new marriage and new daughter. Although the characters are plentiful, I did not particularly care for them, possibly because I did not read the first novel in the series, A Widow's Hope. While I was easily able to follow the story, it was almost too easy and I felt there lacked a certain depth, which I might have found had I read A Widow's Hope first, since characters usually grow with a series. The story is well written and the reader is quickly drawn into the various trials and tribulations of the individuals as well as the families. With an underlying theme of all things are possible with faith, Never Far From Home is an excellent novel to curl up with for a wholesome afternoon of reading.

[Jacquelyn]

This book was an excellent read! Mary Ellis is an incredible author; her books have never failed to move me emotionally.

The story is about a young girl, Emma, who is yearning for someone to love. She unexpectedly finds that she has fallen in love with the one person she should not have anything to do with in accordance to her upbringing ... "an Englisher". Her father is the Deacon and he is very strict and harsh in the way he rules over the family. Emma knows her father will never accept James courting his daughter, but she can't help who she has fallen in love with. She will eventually turn her back on this love to please her father. She will begin to date within her community with a young man named Joseph, and try to put her feelings aside for James for the sake of her family. Tragedy strikes. The way this story unfolds towards the ending will surprise you. With God, all things are possible...

Revisit Hannah and Seth (A Widow's Hope), and get to know Emma's family - her parents Simon and Julia, her younger sister Leah and her younger brother Matthew. Emma's Aunt Hannah has been longing for a baby to call her own, her Uncle Seth has put their life savings into the "Corn Alliance" that could make or break them. Her father Simon is the Deacon and must rule his family in a strict manner due to his standing in the Church, and her mother Julia is stricken with never ending pain due to a disease. Her sister Leah has taken on a lot of the responsibilities of the home since their mother is unable to do most things herself, and her brother Matthew is busy training horses. A journey is waiting for each of them in this inspiring novel that is sure to please.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Is A Great 'Amish Themed' Series With Some Nice Original Story Elements.

Never Far From Home is a wonderful continuation of (The Miller Family Series). I loved both the first book ,A Widow's Hope,and this second book. I am just sorry that I do not have the third book"The Way To A Man's Heart" here and ready to read!

I am very,very pleased with this author's skill at developing her characters and her ability to draw me into her stories.

I liked that she explained the differences between the New Order and Old Order Amish sects.

I live near this Amish area of Ohio,and I enjoy reading about the towns in these counties that I have visited.

I think part of what make this series so good is that the author writes such believable situations and how she includes the characters we have come to know into each book,where in too many series we never see some of the characters we enjoy,ever mentioned again in succeeding books.

I really enjoyed watching the romance develop between a Non-Amish hunk James and Amish teen Emma Miller,and also the romance between her friend and fellow Old Order teen Sarah and an Amish friend of James' Sam, who is from the New Order Sect.

I also very much enjoyed the side stories and getting to know Emma's siblings and their stories.

This is a book that was very hard to put down and I found myself picking it up every chance I got,and finished it at 3AM this morning!

[Lisa Crenshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the storyline was pretty good I kept getting sidetracked by the inconsistencies with time and ages and personalities. One of the biggest personality changes from book one to book two was Seth. He and Simon seemed to switch stances between books on the corn issue. Simon was also a softer man. I would have liked to have access to his viewpoint more with the changes going on with his daughter like we saw with Hannah's story.

I also would have liked to see a deeper relationship between Emma and James. What was the foundation of their love? Everything seemed on the surface and nothing was in-depth. They didn't speak much on their particular beliefs.

At the end Hannah's baby was never mentioned. I expected after all this time we would get to see this thru with her.

With the first book, I didn't like the only mention of Heaven was by works and there was no eternal security. The author mentions the difference between beliefs of works vs faith a few times in this story but I still wish she would have pressed more on eternal security falling solely on faith, not works.

Overall, this was a good book and I would recommend it.

[Vera Godley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Never Far From Home, Emma Miler is a 15 year old Old Order Amish young lady who has finished school and who has begun her own wool business by raising sheep, shearing them, dying the wool and weaving it, and then selling it. She is beginning to think of the "courting" she might do and her "running around" time.

We have to remember that the Amish children do not typically attend school as long as non-Amish do. They assume adult responsibilities much younger as well.

Mary Ellis weaves this story around a maturing Emma and a young Englisher sheep farmer from a nearby farm and township.

This is a tale of personal, family, and spiritual conflicts on many levels. If you enjoy reading stories of the Amish and the struggles they face in a modern world, you will enjoy this book.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book to review and to pass on to the Alamance Christian School library by author Mary Ellis.

[Kristy Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the beginning I was a little annoyed with the characters. I thought Emma was a bit of a suck up to her daed, and I wondered how her daed got things done in the fields because it seemed like all he did was look for things his kids were doing wrong. But the book got better after Emma turned 16, she got a little bit of an attitude, like most teenagers and stopped sucking up. All in all I liked it, but I didn't realize this was the second book in a series when I bought it. (I need to go read the book about her Aunt Hannah now) I like books with closure. This book didn't have the complete closure that I like, but I see now that she left it that way to be able to incorporate Emma in the next book.

[Sandee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second book in The Miller Family series continues Hannah's story and her young niece, Emma who has just started her "rumschpringe" as she finds herself enamored with an Englischer. She has started raising sheep like her Aunt, and James is a sheep farmer with a fast truck, and modern ways. An engaging story about waiting on God for His perfect timing and discovering that dreams planted close to home can grow a lasting harvest of hope and love.

Just as good as the first book in this series, and now I'm starting the third book, The Way to a Man's Heart, and the continuation (sp) of The Miller Family.

[Rev. Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second novel in the Miller Family Series by Mary Ellis. This author grew up close to an Ohio Amish Community, and this series is about a family of Amish who interact with "Englishers". In this one, the daughter of a family falls in love with an Englisher and the two of them have the resulting differences to overcome in order to have a relationship. A buggy accident alters the course of their lives, and the novel leaves readers waiting for #3 to continue the story. Very sweet, and more realistic with its modern day setting and situations.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on the Kindle

This is the 2nd book in the series, i really enjoyed it & found it a good one not sure what they mean by Bangs when referring to something they do to their hair but i got the idea

Emma is the one the book mostly about but have the others from book 1 in it so you are reading about their life the ups & downs of life be you Amish or other wise i think we can all relate to some of their problems especially with having teenagers

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I liked how Emma grew from a teenager who wanted her way 'no matter what' into a young lady who was willing to put aside the desires of her heart in order to honour her father and mother. I also liked how Emma, James, Simon, Julia, Seth, and Hannah each learned to 'lean not unto [their] own understanding' and to trust in God's perfect timing.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Amish woman falls for an English sheep farmer. Her aunt wants a baby while the husband speculates on crop futures. Author Ellis weaves a tale that shows how faith and ability to follow god wishes tests the strength and ability to love. The characters come across as authentic and struggling with the decisions made.

[Tina Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Mary Ellis had my guessing/wondering what was going to happen in the book or how the book was going to end. Cant what to read the third book in the series.

[Thalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book and I could not put it down. I loved the different obsticals that were all a part of eachother and I liked seeing how they all ended up comming together in the end. I loved this book, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

[Lorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed Emma's story.

[Marg · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable book -- easy to read