Carolin Colby Janzen

Vision of the Heart Carolin Colby Janzen

Susannah Haddon, at age 15, was torn from her farm life in England, married off to a man she had scarcely met, and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to a new life in America. Vision of the Heart - Susannah's Story is the inspirational story of her journey, and that of other real people who left religious persecution in England and sailed to the New World with Winthrop's Fleet in 1630. The few journals of the time tell of storms, illness, death, wolves, snakes, religious wars, commercial contracts, depression; all from the man's point of view. Yet, women accompanied these men. These stories, then, are about being among the first settlers of a new land, as a Puritan woman could have lived it. What kind of faith must it have taken for such a woman to survive the life-threatening ordeals of such a sailing journey, and the challenges of survival in the New World? What was life like for these bold pioneers? This book brings these characters to life, and allows us to catch a glimpse of their world, fraught with danger, heart-wrenching sorrow, simple pleasures, and joy. As nearly as possible, historical events are accurate, at times contrary to popular ideas of the history of the years 1630-1650. The characters are based on real people, although their specific personalities may not be known, and some of their ancestry particulars may have been proven wrong through subsequent research. But these events happened, and these people survived (or not) in a place and time where such events occurred. Were it not for their ability to survive and eventually thrive in America, many of us would not be here today. Reading this book may help you understand just how this might have happened.