As the Tree Falls

Early eighteenth-century, Switzerland.

Persecution drives a community of Anabaptists from the Bernese Alps into exile, scattering families across Europe in search of refuge. Seventeen-year-old Anna is among those forced to flee, leaving behind the mountains she loves and Johannes, the young man who once risked everything to save her life.

Anna’s journey takes her to the harsh peat districts of the Low Countries, where survival is never certain and the land itself resists settlement.

In a place shaped by water and work, she begins to build a fragile new life, forming bonds of care and community among others in exile. But safety proves elusive, and each new beginning is shadowed by uncertainty.

When the promise of a new beginning lies across the Atlantic, Anna faces an impossible choice: hold on to what she has begun to build, or risk everything once more.

As the Tree Falls is a novel of exile and endurance, exploring how lives are reshaped by upheaval, and how, even in the most uncertain ground, something new can take root.