Prodigal — Willard N. Carpenter

Where does an 18-year-old Amish boy go when he ‘jumps the fence' during his rumspringa? What does he become? Who is he when he returns? Prodigal, is about a young Amish teenager who leaves the Amish community to pursue an education and finds himself, in a unique career, abhorrent to the Amish. His father dying, he returns home 25 years later. Clues involving secrets to his past begin to emerge. Though Prodigal is about the mystery surrounding Samuel, it most importantly is about his wife, Mary, an Amish widow with two children. She is 16 years younger than Samuel, who is all but by name English. Because of her husband's past, she enjoys and is empowered with freedoms not afforded other Amish married woman. Though she adheres to the tenants of her faith, Mary is also strong, passionate and somewhat independent.