Bøger af Beth Staas

It is the end of World War I and Germany is struggling to survive. The Ruhr valley's industrial basin is reduced to coalmining and little else, its factories, transports and shops stripped bare as reparation for the war. Frozen in an antiquated system modeled after the military, ordinary citizens face grinding poverty as jobs disappear and savings melt under inflation and devaluation of the German mark. This novel, BESIDE THE GOLDEN DOOR, is about five persons in one family as they immigrate to America, embracing its promise of plenty. It takes the reader from the late 1920s to the end of World War II, alternating with three siblings who have remained behind. It is the story of the less articulate and educated buffeted by powers and politics that are barely understood: the Great Depression and World War II. The book ends in 1950 when one of the American brothers visits Germany and, seeing its devastation, sponsors his nieces' families to America, beginning another cycle of immigration, "beside the golden door."

Worthington, a small town expanding due to highway access, is a compilation of Midwest Americana with old-fashioned values and adherence to the local lodge and the comfort of status and neighborly rank. Amity church is also expanding, having just hired Neville Leighton as their new minister. At first all goes well with congregational growth on track. But his new innovations of sensitivity training that invite the expression of hidden feelings more open that customary, make people feel uncomfortable. Soon members are taking sides, the division and dissent running rampant, the issues personal rather than theological. It threatens to tear the church apart. The book ends with Amity Community Church voting to not sign Neville's upcoming contract, in effect firing him, leaving the congregation emotionally wrung-out, looking to heal once again.