Cord of Three Strands
by Christy Distler
BooksGoSocial
Christian | Historical Fiction
Pub Date 08 Jun 2020


I am reviewing a copy of Cord of Three Hands through BooksGoSocial and Netgalley:



When 1756 begins Issac Lukens leaves the Pennsylvania wilderness after two years with the Lenape people. He has failed to find the families of his birth parents, a French trader and a Lenape woman. Even worse the tribe he has lived with has rejected his efforts at peacemaking, and now they are ravaging frontier settlements in retaliation. After Issac arrives in the Quaker community where he was reared, questions taunt him: He wants to know who he is a white man, or Lenape? Where does he belong?





Elisabeth Alden was Issac’s nearest and dearest childhood friend, she is left to to tend her young siblings alone upon her father’s death. Issac had promised to care for her and the children, she battles resentment toward him for having left, while an unspeakable tragedy and her discordant courtship with a prominent Philadelphian weigh on her as well.




Elisabeth finds that she must marry or she will loose custody or her young siblings and her options threaten the life with her and the children that Isaac has come to love. While faced with Elisabeth’s reluctance to Marry, and the prospect of finding his family at last, as well as being faced with the opportunity to help in the peace process between Pennsylvania and the Indian tribes. But Issac must first find out where and to whom he belongs.



I give A Cord of Three Strands five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I really enjoyed this book. It takes place in 1744 in Pennsylvania, and it is about a young lady named Elisabetg and her dearest friend in all the world, Isaac who was half white and half Lenape Indian. Both were from Quaker families, and were considered "Friends", as they both gave their lives to Christ and embraced the Quaker lifestyle. They lived very close to each other growing up, and when Elisabeth was 6 and Isaac was 8, Elisabeth decided they would be friends forever, so she took a strand of Isaac's hair, a strand of her own hair, and a red cord to represent Jesus, and braided them together as she remembered from their worship service. Here's the quote she shared with Isaac when he questioned her doing this :" “This cord will always remind us that no matter what happens, because we have each other and Jesus, we will not easily be broken.”

Isaac's mother was a Lenape indian, and his father was French, but when Isaac was two they passed away at a Quaker care facility, and the young Quaker mother who nursed his parents took Isaac into their family, and he became her son. Later, Isaac feels the call to find out more about his family and leaves the Friends community for a few years. He feels he is called by God to be a peacekeeper between the Indians and the white settlers as there is much turmoil between the two groups. Isaac comes to point where that work is done, so he feels as if he should go home, back to the Friends community and back to Elisabeth.

Elizabeth, now 19, has grown up since Isaac left, and finds herself raising three of her siblings, and in a very hard position. She loves being a part of the Friends community, but tragedy strikes her hard, and she needs help to keep her and her siblings safe, especially with the rumors of Indian raids, sickness, slavery, and every day struggles that settlers faced during that time. As a Friend, she has strong moral standards, and tries very hard to show the light of Christ through the love and care of people, hence she has learned midwifery, and even helps deliver a runaway slave's baby. But she doesn't see the color of her skin, only a mother to be! Now she is faced with caring for her siblings, but can a single, unmarried young woman handle such a task? Will the community allow that? She struggles with her options, but wants so badly to keep her siblings together!

Elisabeth and Isaac will be reunited, but will find life very different from when they were children. This book is their story of when they are reunited, and through struggle, hardship and turmoil, they try to keep that friendship intact, but so much is against them. The Friends community does not leave them to flounder by themselves, but sometimes they may had to make hard decisions depending on what was best for all involved. I won't give any spoilers, but this book is seriously worth the time to find out how Elisabeth and Isaac weather these stormy waters, and if their friendship can also weather it, either proving or disproving that a cord of three strands is not easily broken. Read the book and find out!

I love historical fiction and this book was a joy to read! It taught me a lot about the Friends community, their love of Christ and how they desire to show it to others, no matter their race, religion, or lack ok it! I learned about the struggles between the Indians and the settlers, as the author shared both sides! Family is the most important, and I see that Elisabeth and Isaac, and their relationship with the children. Life was hard back then, but love made it bearable! The biggest takeaway for me was the truth of how a three-fold cord is not easily broken, especially with Christ as the third strand. It made me so glad that He is the third strand in all my relationships as He was in Elisabeth & Isaac's relationship! I really enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend it.

A Cord of Three Strands
by Christy Distler
Born to a French trader and a Lenape woman. Reared by Quakers. As the French & Indian War rages, one man strives for peace—between Pennsylvania and its Indian tribes, and between his own heart and mind.
As 1756 dawns, Isaac Lukens leaves the Pennsylvania wilderness after two years with the Lenape people. He’s failed to find the families of his birth parents, a French trader and a Lenape woman. Worse, the tribe he’s lived with, having rejected his peacemaking efforts, now ravages frontier settlements in retaliation. When he arrives in the Quaker community where he was reared, questions taunt him: Who is he—white man or Lenape? And where does he belong?
Elisabeth Alden, Isaac’s dearest childhood friend, is left to tend her young siblings alone upon her father’s death. Despite Isaac’s promise to care for her and the children, she battles resentment toward him for having left, while an unspeakable tragedy and her discordant courtship with a prominent Philadelphian weigh on her as well.
Elisabeth must marry or lose guardianship of her siblings, and her options threaten the life with her and the children that Isaac has come to love. Faced with Elisabeth’s hesitancy to marry, the prospect of finding his family at last, and the opportunity to assist in the peace process between Pennsylvania and its Indian tribes, Isaac must determine where—and to whom—the Almighty has called him.
A Cord of Three Strands weaves fact and fiction into a captivating portrayal of Colonial-era Quaker life, including Friends’ roles in Pennsylvania Indian relations and in refuting slavery.
Impressions: I think trying to make the language authentic was a bit challenging. It helps set the scene but it was distracting as well. Kind of like reading the KJV of the Bible.
Rated: War, discrimination, slavery, Indian attacks, rape, murder
Liked: After reading the personal note from the author; the story became more personal and interesting.
Disliked: The romance between these characters took forever… It was also doubtful that the Quakers would have been so permissive of their close and intimate relationship.
Quotes:
“Tisn’t my intention to judge, only to understand…”
“…what I learned is that with anger, we must ask questions to determine its appropriateness. What is its motivation? On what is it focused? Is it properly controlled? Is its duration suitable? And does it have an apt result?” – Good wisdom in this.
“So thee is feeling overburdened by thy duties? Or is thee feeling some resentment that Ethan has fewer duties? Or a bit of both?” -My boys are 4 years apart and this is literally our discussion daily.
“Thee is human, Abby, and as humans, we’re naturally inclined to selfishness. ‘Tis only through extending the love of Jesus Christ to others that we overcome that. We must learn to love them as much- or more than we love ourselves.”
“I didn’t mean that. I don’t know why I said it.’ I did- mainly because I’d spoken hastily so many times myself. ‘That is what happens when we are quicker to speak than we are to listen. God gave us two ears but only one mouth. Remember that.”
“Anger, as righteous as it felt, would only complicate the situation and undermine the path to an agreeable resolution.”
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here.

This book was so good y'all!
I appreciate the hard work that the author has put into her novel for people like me to enjoy and lose ourselves in. Even if only for a little while.
Living back in those times like Issac and Elizabeth did I'm sure was very scary! They were two of the most fascinating people that I've ever met. I admired them and their faith in God.
I liked this book. There were many things that I found that time hasn't changed things at all!
Racism for one. No matter what people will be people. They will be afraid of what they don't always understand. It's what makes them do unpleasant things.
Another thing is how fast friendships can change. Just wow! Over the slightest thing too.
The author has pulled this story off perfectly. I didn't find one thing wrong with it.
This book is exciting and in some places will make you cry and have you looking over your shoulder for what may be hidden or who may pop out at any time.
I liked this book so much that I just had to brag about it.
I recommend this book
My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own.
5 stars!

A well-written book with expert use of language, true to the time and people. Definitely a recommended book for Christian book club gatherings, or personal reading with a cup of coffee in hand. If there was anything I would change, however, it would be the ending, which seemed slightly rushed, but the last chapter was sweet, if anything,

When I saw the title of this book, I was very excited about reading it. It is from one of my favorite Bible verses Ecclesiastes 4:22. Of course one of the most meaningful portions of the book for me, is when as a child Elisabeth braids a lock of her hair, a lock of Isaac's and a lock of red wool to represent Jesus. Years later she finds it in her Bible and they are reminded at a very hard time of Gods promise. My favorite genre of novels is Christian Historical Romance, especially when they are done well. This book by Christy Distler was a cut above. I was drawn into the setting and characters write from the first few pages. There is a prologue at the very beginning explaining some of the words, terms and their meaning, so you do not get lost. Living in Pennsylvanian near the Pennsylvanian Dutch I found the language refreshing. The story was very sad and touching in places. Christy had such well crafted characters you can't help but fall in love with them. I was captivated and enjoyed this book from start to finish.
I thank BooksGoSocial for allowing me, through NetGalley, to read this great book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.