by Amanda Lauer
Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D.
The Civil War tore the United States apart and many friendships and families as well. In A World Such as Heaven Intended, Amara McKirnan and Nathan Simmons share a devotion to their Catholic faith, but their loyalties lie on opposite sides of the conflict. Dedicated to the Confederate cause, Amara offers to help out at her uncle’s make shift hospital in Atlanta. Fate brought Nathan to their doorstep and into Amara’s life. Little does Amara know that the wounded soldier she cares for harbors a secret that will not only jeopardize his life but hers as well. Follow Amara and Nathan’s story from the heart of war-torn Atlanta to the Northern Georgia battlefields to the plains of East Texas as their lives become intertwined in a way that shatters the separate worlds they once knew.
Combining a love of reading and a fascination with history, Amanda Lauer fulfilled a lifelong goal with the publication of her debut novel, A World Such as Heaven Intended. Over the last ten years, she has had more than 1200 articles published in newspapers and magazines. Amanda and her husband john are the proud parents of four children and are enjoying new life as grandparents.