Giveaway with Promise to Return Author Elizabeth Byler Younts!

Giveaway with Promise to Return Author Elizabeth Byler Younts!

About six months ago, I received an email from Elizabeth Byler Younts. I only had to look at her name Byler to know that Elizabeth and I shared the same Anabaptist (Mennonite/Amish) heritage.

Elizabeth’s debut novel, Promise to Return, was set to release a few months after my debut, The Outcast. Both of us are stay-at-home moms, so we chatted about juggling writing and motherhood, and I felt an instant connection with her.

Therefore, I am so honored to share our interview with you all. But before we begin, here is a little more about Promise to Return (and make sure to keep reading through the Q&A; surprise at the end!):

When World War II breaks out, Miriam Coblentz’s peaceful Amish world is turned upside down…

It’s 1943, and Miriam Coblentz and Henry Mast are nearing their wed­ding day when the unthinkable happens—Henry is drafted. However, since he is a part of the pacifist Amish tradition, Henry is sent to a conscientious objector Civilian Public Service camp. When he leaves for the work camp, his gaping absence turns Miriam’s life upside down. Little does she know it’s only the beginning… When Henry returns home, he brings news that shakes Miriam and their Amish community to the core. Henry believes God has called him to enlist in the army and fight for his country, leaving her to make an impor­tant decision: whether to choose loyalty to the peaceful life she’s always known or her love for Henry. Two worlds collide in this unforgettable debut novel, providing a fasci­nating and rare look into Amish culture during World War II. While Henry is battling enemies across the ocean, Miriam struggles between her devotion to Henry and her love of the Amish way of life. One question is at the bottom of it all: will she follow the rules of her religion or the leading of her heart?

J: In Promise to Return, you write so compellingly about the plight of pacifism, Elizabeth. Do you have anyone in your Amish family history who was a conscientious objector?

E: Traditionally all Amish are conscientious objectors. My grandpa, “Daudy”, was drafted in WW2 and entered the Civilian Public Service. He served faithfully at a labor camp and also at a mental institution for several years. While serving in the hospital he heard about this girl “Liddy Lee” who lived in an Amish community in the Dover, DE area…since it was only a short bus trip away they had a blind date. This was also especially exciting for my “Mammie” Liddy since he arrived looking a little “English” with his hospital jacket on and shorter hair than the common Amishman. They fell in love quickly and were married several months after his CPS service was completed. This “love story” is highlighted in my first book Seasons: A Real Story of an Amish Girl, which is the story of my Amish grandma’s young life.

J: What a fascinating backstory! I love how you honored your grandmother by recording her life history. What a beautiful tribute to her life and her marriage. Speaking of marriage, as a military wife, did the separation from your husband help write about Miriam’s being separated from her beloved, Henry?

E: I think it did. While I had Skype and email during my husband’s deployment I still felt a sense of unity with Miriam and women who have gone before me who were separated from their husbands for the sake of their country’s freedoms. Knowing that we have men half a world away who are willing to lay their lives down for our freedom is an amazing reality to military wives. I think being so far away from my other half made me put myself in Miriam’s shoes even more to try and see through her eyes.

J: This is why Miriam’s longing rings so true. . . . Thank you for your sacrifice for our country; I think military wives are some of the bravest women I know. What other aspects of Promise to Return were drawn from your own life experience?

E: I would say mostly just hearing the memories of life in the 40s that I learned from my grandma. She has always been a storyteller and still people visit her just to hear her talk of her childhood. Miriam’s angst over being loyal to both her church and Henry I can definitely relate with as a person who hates confrontation.

J: Though I have a Mennonite background and my husband Amish, I did not know the nuances of dress among the Amish communities (stand up collars versus flat, for instance). How did you go about your research? Did you ask your family members?

E: Having my grandma still living and filled with memories is wonderful. My parents know many of these stories also, so I was able to ask them about the era in the church. I believe, even still, the Delaware and Ohio dress differently…and the Lancaster Amish another variation. The funny thing is that my grandma, if pressed, still has quite an opinion about all of this still after so many years.

J: I wish I could listen in on that conversation! I’m sure it’s very entertaining. When my husband’s ex-Amish grandfather, Amos Stoltzfus, was still alive, he told some of the best tales. Can you tell us a little about the sequel of Promise to Return?

E: I don’t want to give away any Promise to Return SPOILERS so if you haven’t read it, skip this question. This could give away a bit of the ending of Promise to Return.

Okay…on with Promise to Cherish. The men working in the mental hospitals with the Civilian Public Service have been historically noted for helping to revolutionize the mental health system for the better. Promise to Cherish takes the reader inside one of these mental institutions. The story follows Eli Brenneman from Promise to Return. He gets drafted and enters the Civilian Public Service and heads first to a labor camp and then to a mental institution in Poughkeepsie, New York. There he meets Christine Freeman, an English nurse, who finds herself unexpectedly intrigued with the Amish CPS unit working tirelessly in the hospital. Christine and Eli go on a journey together learning how God accepts and values all human life…whether mentally unstable patients, an Amishman who has made too many mistakes, and a nurse who is unwed and pregnant.

J: Wow! I am intrigued, to say the least! I can’t wait to read this sequel, and I’m sure your readers are also chomping at the bit. Now, to wrap things up: What’s one of the most interesting things you’ve learned in your research for this series?

E: My whole life I’ve known about the CPS but when I started writing this series and started buying tons of books and looking online for information I was blown away. Some of the “campers” (also called: conscientious objectors, C.O.s, conscies) were away for the entire war with no pay. There were churches that supported the camps and so some of them received a few dollars a week. Remember, these were gov’t camps and were to serve the nation in a variety of ways but these 12,000 men were not given a real wage. They were away from their families (many of them were husbands with families or sons who were still at home and helping their families monetarily) without an actual wage for years. My grandpa said that his pay was so low it wasn’t enough for HIM to live on even though the camp provided food and shelter. In some locations the public called the C.O.s “Hitler’s Helpers” and very belittled and considered unpatriotic because their conscience would not allow them to serve.

Now, I am a proud military wife and truly support our efforts…but I do stand by someone’s right to be a C.O. I think it’s great when the gov’t is able to provide them some way to serve that doesn’t go against their belief system but I really believe they should still get a wage. Thank God the local churches stepped in.

During these same years the German POWs captured by the Americans were being paid 80 cents a day for their work. While that may not seem like a lot it was money coming from the US gov’t to the German POWs but not it’s own C.O.s. You can make your own judgment call on that…but the bottom line is that this is fascinating history.

J: Thank you so much, Elizabeth, for stopping by today and for sharing such fascinating history!

Now, readers, get ready for some wonderful news! Please tell me what you’re reading right now in the comment section, and I will use Random.org to put your name in the bonnet and select your name for a drawing of a signed copy of Promise to Return, which Elizabeth has graciously offered to mail to your home!

To learn more about this delightful new author, visit Elizabeth’s beautiful website.