2021 Best Book Awards Winner

Sometimes home isn’t a place, but a people.

As children, Janna Carpenter and Luke Martin lived on opposite sides of Division Highway, and that wasn’t the only division in their lives. While he grew up in the gmay—Lancaster County’s Old Order Mennonite community—she was the daughter of a single mother who left her in the care of Luke’s grandmother. For six years Janna found love with the Martins, until her mother abruptly moved them away.

Now, almost fourteen years later, Janna returns to the area with her daughter. Her hope for a new beginning is lost when they find their home uninhabitable after a storm, then an out-of-gas car leaves them stranded. When two women stop to help, they turn out to be Luke’s aunts, and the Martin family again takes her in.

Janna and Luke, a widower struggling to balance business and family responsibilities, reacquaint as Janna assists his grandmother and cares for his son. Her self-protective independence and his conservative principles put them at odds, but the difficulties they face draw them closer.

When long-lost friendship rekindles into unexpected love, will either be willing to make changes so they can be together?

A portion of the proceeds from each sale will be donated to Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.

“Distler’s believable setup and the conflict’s resolution make for pleasing reading. This sweet romance will win over fans of Amish and Mennonite fiction.”

—Publishers Weekly

“The Heart Knows the Way Home is a tender, compassionate look at relationships and love in a Mennonite community.”

—Emily-Jane Hills Orford, Readers’ Favorite

“A sweet, gentle read about two people who have met again after 14 years apart. Each of them has had hardships and difficulties along the way both ending up as single parents to children with health issues. And their journey together forward is not going to be strewn with rose petals either. The reader gets further insights into the Mennonite community and the various struggles members face whether religious or the troubles of society and the world we live in today. For a few hours you can forget your world and travel to a place where the home is truly the heart of the family.”

—Amazon reviewer

“Distler’s characters are so real they practically step off the page. It’s too easy to stereotype a group different from your own, particularly when it comes to religious beliefs. But this story treats all the characters with respect, as individuals who live out their varying convictions with integrity and seek to resolve differences peacefully. The story is both deeply thought-provoking and totally charming.”

—Amazon reviewer