A Woman Named Damaris (Women of the West Book #4)

Will she ever discover the story behind her unusual name? Fifteen-year-old Damaris can no longer stay on her family's farm and endure her father's drunken rages. With the help of her heartbroken mother, Damaris makes her escape, taking along two family treasures: her grandmother's lacy golden brooch and her grandfather's watch. These items and her name are the only legacy she has from her past. Her mother once told her that "Damaris" came from the Bible and had a special meaning. But growing up without ever seeing a Bible, Damaris doesn't know what that meaning is. Far from home and feeling so alone, she wonders if the Bible can help her find out who she is and what the future might hold for her. She was almost fifteen on the night she dared for the first time to think of what life might be like away from home. Pa again had come home drunk and mean; the trauma of the subsequent scene had been repeated as long as Damaris could remember. The idea that she no longer needs to tolerate this, that maybe she's old enough to manage on her own, is planted in her mind and begins to grow. She must plan her escape carefully, but she must get away from him. When the opportunity comes, Damaris carries with her the strength of her mother's love. Two treasures hidden for years from her father (her grandmother's lacy golden brooch and her grandfather's lovely watch) are Damaris' only legacy from her past. That and her name. Her mother said it came from the Bible and had a special meaning that she can't remember anymore. What difference might it make? But Damaris can't escape the "aloneness" that haunts her life or the bitterness she feels when she sees others suffering, particularly children. Ultimately, she must come to terms with her past, learn to live in her present circumstances, and trust her future to another Father. One of the bestselling Christian novelists of our time, Janette Oke's books have been described as stories that never go out of style. Her readers have enjoyed and benefited from the spiritual insights and practical faith in God that accompany her homey stories. This books is the moving story of a 15-year-old who, unable to tolerate her drinking father's abuse, joins a wagon train heading West Damaris escapes her father's drunken abuse, but she can't seem to escape her profound loneliness. Does the Bible hold the answer to both that and the question of why she is A Woman Named Damaris? A young woman escapes a difficult childhood and finds meaning and purpose through her biblical name.