Article and Interview by Elise Cooper
A Healing Touch by Suzanne Woods Fisher is a compelling read. Ruth “Dok” Stoltzfus is the kind of doctor who still believes in house calls, addressing not just her patients’ physical needs but their emotional ones too. The story begins with Dok confronting one of her patients to get help. When newly widowed Bee faces a breast cancer diagnosis, Dok connects her with Fern Lapp for support. When her painfully shy assistant Annie finds herself drawn to a new calling, Dok goes to great lengths to help her achieve her dream. And when an abandoned newborn mysteriously appears at her office one frosty morning, Dok’s world takes an unexpected turn because her husband wants to foster care the infant. A Healing Touch is a captivating tale of compassion, resilience, and the bonds that form in surprising places.
Elise Cooper: The idea for the story?
Suzanne Woods Fisher: I have a doctor in the storyline, a sister to the Amish Bishop who left home to pursue her education. In one of my previous books, she circles back into Stoney Ridge, becoming a doctor to the Amish. Even though this is not really a series, she will be a prevalent part of this book and the next. I wanted a book to be a hybrid, where modern medicine meets Amish wisdom.
EC: How would you describe the doctor?
SWF: She has a rural practice with a sense of appreciating the traditions and language of her patients. She does return to her roots in some ways. She must contend with the Amish patients who cannot afford to spend the money on medical procedures. She is coming with all the bells and whistles of modern medicine. It is not that they do not accept modern medicine but have more of a holistic view. The Amish will seek alternative treatments. With a serious diagnosis they are more willing to accept there is a biological end to life. Whereas with modern medicine, death is the enemy.
EC: Why the women characters in their fifties?
SWF: There are two women in their fifties. It says something about that stage of life. They are really seasoned and have a necessary viewpoint. They understand that life will have bumps ahead.
EC: How would you describe “Dok” Ruth Stolfzfus?
SWF: Practical, caring, responsible, an over helper, and an over worker.
EC: How did you come up with so many diseases?
SWF: I had mumps, behavior disorders, cancer, and anxiety disorders in the story. I am not a medical professional. I studied and did research to try to get the information correct. I hoped I addressed the information correctly.
EC: How would you describe Dok’s assistant, Annie?
SWF: Shy, has social anxiety, a loner, and lacks confidence. Yet she wants to make a better life for herself so has become unflappable. She must handle her mother’s crisis. After she sees an EMT who is Amish at work she had a sense of a calling. This is why she is pursuing to become an EMT.
EC: What about Annie’s mom?
SWF: Her mother is inflexible and cannot let go. She tries to put a guilt trip on Annie because she knows of nothing except to be a mom. She does not know how to deal with an empty nest. She is a person craving attention, which is why she is a raging hypochondriac.
EC: How would you describe one of Dok’s patients, Bee?
SWF: She is prickly, reclusive, introverted, and likes horses more than people. She is a former Olympic Equestrian. She has taken the love of horses to become a breeder of horses.
EC: Was part of the theme, letting go?
SWF: Annie’s mom could not let go. Dok could not let go of the child she was foster parenting, and Bee could not let go of her grief after her husband died. Bee also could not let go of selling the horses she breeds and cannot quite let go of her horse babies.
EC: Do you think the men in the story were similar or different: Matt, Damon, and Gus?
SWF: Matt is Dok’s husband. Damon is the horse trainer to help Bee while she is going through radiation treatment for breast cancer. Gus is the Amish EMT who opened Annie’s eyes. All three were a little more open to accepting.
EC: Next books?
SWF: The next book will come out in November, titled A Year of Flowers. It is four novellas combined in the print edition. Three teenage girls who worked in a flower shop had been mentored by the owner. They were the best of friends. Something dreadful happens in the store. They left. Each novella delves into the life of one of the girls seven years later. The fourth novella brings them back to the little town to face the owner.
In May of 2025 a book titled Capture the Moment will come out. It is the first in a series surrounding national parks. This story has a young woman who is a zoo photographer that has been asked to take a photo of a famous grizzly bear.
The next Amish book is out in October 2025. It does not have a title. Dok’s practice has been flooded ever since the local news wrote a story on her. To help, her husband gets the idea to send in an application to a program that will send two medical school graduates. She has two residents with all book knowledge and no people knowledge.
EC: THANK YOU!!
