Living in the middle of a pandemic, I have found myself more and more curious about the events around previous pandemics. This book was recommended to me by a librarian in my children's lit book club. While it is about a fictional girl who is orphaned and sent to live with the Shakers during the pandemic of 1918, it is more about the Shakes than the pandemic. It was a good read though!
The shakers group/religion was started by a woman. They lived celibate lives and kept to themselves. They farmed and sold their goods to others. They prayed to a Heavenly Father Mother - someone who was both female and male. The Law of Consecration could describe their communal way of living. It was quite fascinating to learn about them! Some of the reviews I read were quite put off by the groups' religious teachings. I did find that part quite fascinating.
Apparently, Lois Lowry bought a house quite near the actual setting of this story and became so interested in the life and experience of Shakers that she wrote this book.
I've read a couple of these Dear America and Dear Canada books. I have to say, the diary/journal format hasn't grabbed me.
Goodreads says:
Two-time Newbery Award-winning author Lois Lowry brings a brand-new, beautiful diary to the Dear America series!
Suddenly orphaned by the Spanish flu epidemic in the fall of 1918, eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce and her fourteen-year-old brother, Daniel, of Portland, Maine, are taken by their uncle to be raised in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake. Thrust into the Shakers' unfamiliar way of life, Lydia must grapple with a new world that is nothing like the one she used to know.
Now separated from her beloved brother, for men and women do not mix in this community, Lydia must adjust to many changes. But in time, and with her courageous spirit, she learns to find the joy in life again.
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