Book Review: Beyond all Measure by Dorothy Love

Ada Wentworth arrives in Hickory Ridge, Tennessee after answering an ad for a job with a  plan in mind to salvage her meager finances.She is a young Bostonian that leaves all that is familiar to her and steps into a town that is still rebuilding itself after the Civil War. She took a step into the unknown driven by shame, heart ache, and loneliness after a broken engagement without explanation. She arrived by train  expecting to be picked up by Hannah but encounters Wyatt instead -her boss who has hired her to care for Lillian, a strong willed old lady set in her ways! She soon discovers that she was hired to assume all the chores of the household as well as care for Lillian. Ada's expectations soon begin to change as she embraces her new job and finds her heart opening up to love, to Hickory Ridge and to the new people in her life. Tension rises when Ada takes under arm a mulatto orphan by helping her with her school lessons. Despite the threats Ada continues to help the orphan and after Lillian passes away she finds herself alone again and a crossroads.In running away from her past, she realizes she must face it and and give it over to God, trusting him to heal her heart so that she embraces  the new future He has prepared for her.


The historical setting of this book, the rebuilding time after the civil war parallels the rebuilding that is happening in Ada's heart. This book reminds me that we must trust God with all the areas of our life. We can't hold on to unforgiveness and expect our heart to heal after it has been hurt. It was an inspiring story that left me wanting to learn more about Ada and look forward to reading the other books about Ada.





Gracefully Daisy