Forever Faithful

Forever Faithful is a historical Christian novel of family life during World War II. In the early chapters, Julia’s father farms with horses, and life on the farm is much like how the Amish people live today. This is a fictitious story based on my memories of WWII and farm life in northeast Iowa. My parents, like Julia’s in the story, married in the turbulent twenties, endured the financial woes of the Great Depression in the thirties, and in the forties, faced another world war. Farmers supplied most of their food, keeping them quite self-sufficient and independent. Agriculture is always vitally important, especially during war, to provide the military and the home front with food. How did WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII affect family life? Compare those years to today and realize how those years brought change that took permanent root in American government, religion, finance, health, and society. Back then, the white bridal gown signified purity, meaning the bride was a virgin. People did not live together without marriage. Sunday was the Lord’s Day—no stores were open. People didn’t use debt money like the credit cards today. How do Julia and her family cope with the changes suddenly engulfing their lives? With young men of military age, how does the war affect their romances and lifestyle?