When the Waters Came

Title: When the Waters Came
Author: Candice Sue Patterson
Series: A Day to Remember, book 1
Major Themes: Johnstown Flood, Pennsylvania, Clara Barton, Red Cross, Disasters
Synopsis: When Monty realized, after a terrible flood swept away almost everything and everyone around him, what had caused the disaster, he had to decide how to handle this terrible knowledge.

Several years ago, I read a book with the children about the Johnstown flood. That was an intense story that kept us on the edge of our seats with suspense. I think it was the only book I had ever seen on that topic, though—until When the Waters Came. I would still have to say that I like The Terrible Wave better, although I liked seeing the cleanup and reconstruction and learning about the cause of the catastrophe.

Monty had been living in Johnstown for two years, acting as the pastor of one of the churches in that crowded mill town. He was very careful not to let anyone find out about his past, but secretly he wanted, more than anything, to see the power of the industrial kings who vacationed on the lake behind the dam above Johnstown broken. Only when he saw justice meted out on them by God, he believed, would he find peace and healing from the scars of his childhood.

The spring of 1889 was the wettest anyone could remember. As it rained on the Memorial Day celebrations, the rain showed no signs of letting up. Then came the catastrophe everyone had been afraid of. The dam broke. In no time, Johnstown was wiped out and Monty found himself fighting for his life and the lives of everyone he could reach, while he was forced to watch many more being swept past him. 

Five days after the flood, the Red Cross, headed by Clara Barton herself, arrived in Johnstown to help with relief. Annamae was one of the nurses. She had been well-trained to help people, but the scale of devastation was more than she could handle. Then, she found herself dealing with suppressed emotions from her father’s tragic death that insisted on coming to the surface. As she and Monty worked together to care for cholera victims and orphaned children, they found themselves drawn to each other. Both wanted to see justice done to the men. As investigations into the cause of the flood appeared to show that it had not been a natural disaster but man-made, both wanted to see justice dealt out to those who caused it.

I appreciate this author’s careful research, as detailed in the historical notes at the back of the book. When the Waters Came is a vivid story of one of the worst disasters in American history. I enjoyed glimpses of Clara Barton, as well; I don’t think I have ever read historical fiction about her before. I really appreciated the way the author portrayed Monty and Annamae working through grief and anger and learning to let go and let God deal with criminals, rather than trying to see justice done by themselves. I liked what Monty told Annamae at one point: “Everyone’s sins nailed Jesus to the cross. He wrote each of our names in His wounds. Even the ones of those He knew would never ask for forgiveness. That way, everyone would have a fair chance at Heaven if they chose to accept Him.” The one thing I didn’t appreciate so much was that the romance was such a central part of the book; I prefer books without romance, or that have it as a very small factor in the story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

WARNING: Chapter 3: A flood carrying people away, a baby nearly drowning. Chapter 4: A fire, people burned. Chapter 13: Memory of a man dying an awful death. Chapter 19: A fight, a man injured badly. Chapter 32: A kiss.

——————
Related posts:

The Return All Things New The Deepest Waters Veiled in Smoke