The Blessed: A Novel Audiobook

It is 1844 and Lacey Bishop's life is a tangled mess. Estranged from her own family, at age 16 she went to work for a preacher and his wife. When his wife died, the preacher convinced Lacey that the only decent thing to do was to marry him. That way she could continue to act as mother to the little girl who was left on his doorstop. But Lacey never expected he would decide to take them all off to a Shaker village. 

In the Shaker village, Lacey’s still married but living in a community that believes marriage is a sin. And to make matters worse, she finds herself drawn to Isaac Kingston, a man who came to the Shakers after his young bride died. But of course any notion of love between them is only a forbidden dream. How will Lacey ever find true happiness?

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"The Blessed by Ann Gabhart is the fourth book in her Shaker series. The story covers two people, Lacey and Isaac, each trapped between a rock and a hard place, and living life without hope. Lacey's family was shattered with the death of her mother, and after her father married an abusive woman, she was sent to help out Preacher Palmer's family in another town. Lacey grew to see his wife, Miss Mona, as a mother figure, and when an infant girl was dropped off at their doorstep, the two women raised little Rachel together. But with Miss Mona's death, Lacey feels the preacher's eyes on her all the time until he coerces her into marriage so she can continue to raise Rachel, but she gets him to promise to allow her time before attempting to consummate the marriage. The preacher's frustration fills the house with tension and Lacey with the fear that this is all there is for her life. Isaac Kingston thought his wife Ella was just malingering when she told him that she would die if he took her away from her home. His dreams a life and fortune out West took them far away. Ella's words were prophetic, and Isaac brought his young wife home to be buried. Ella's father is an important judge who is angry at the "murder" of his only child and determines to destroy Isaac, making the young man hide in the forest, starving, homeless, and considering suicide until he meets Brother Asa, a young Shaker man who promises a full belly and a bed to sleep in if he comes to work at the Shaker commune, Harmony Hill. Lacey and Isaac are hurting and lonely and wondering if this is all that God created them for when they find each other. Gabhart has done a terrific job with this series of presenting both sides of the Shaker community, their deep abiding faith, work ethic, and desire for peace, along with the legalistic members and strange rules that seem almost crazy today. Gabhart really gives the reader the opportunity to get to know Lacey and Isaac, aching for their helplessness and hopelessness. Her writing is compelling and poignant and always has a message of faith and hope for readers."

— Clockstein (4 out of 5 stars)