Heidi M. Thomas’ Finding True Home, a novel that continues a fictionalized story of her mother’s life, is an intriguing sequel to Seeking the American Dream.
Anna Moser immigrated to Montana from Germany as a war bride. Although Anna and her husband Neil are very much in love, life has not been easy. Through harsh winters and searing summers, she’s content to work on their ranch alongside her husband, plus take care of their children and keep up the housework. It’s not the work that Anna finds a burden, it’s the lack of acceptance by her neighbors. She perceives she is still thought of as “that foreign woman,” and that her neighbors can’t forget, nor forgive, someone from Germany, a country America fought in World War II.
The Mosers have two children, Monica and Kevin. Family is everything and it’s tough for Anna to allow her children to find their own way. When their third child, Lizzie, is born, Anna finds her more challenging than the first two. As a baby Lizzie constantly cries, as a little girl she is unpredictable, and as a teen she’s constantly in trouble. Anna struggles to understand her children, especially Lizzie.
When tragedy strikes, Anna and Neil are devastated, but Anna blames herself, the old self-doubt haunts her. Later, when serious illness strikes, Anna is forced to look honestly at her life and the blessings she has been given.
Finding True Home is a heart-warming story, a story parents will recognize in their own lives and in their own struggles raising a family. As this novel so aptly describes, love endures, love is triumphant.