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Summary: Truths revealed in the restrictive Amish culture
Review: Revealed in this book are the true experiences of former Amish. Very interesting to read that some as early as 5 years of age felt uncomfortable with their lifesyle practices. The hardships endured to leave the Amish community are also well described, as the Amish lifestyle does not make it easy to blend into modern " English" sociey ( with only as high as an 8 grade education, no money, only skills are farming/carpentry). Most astounding to me is that some Amish left because of religious disputes, of not being able to worship God freely for the only acceptable bible is the German version which few could read. This is a great book to get a view of the true life of the Amish rather than the romanticized slant.
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Summary: This book shows that Amish are not as pious as they appear
Review: The book was very enlightening. I was unaware that the Amish women and children have such hard lives.I had always believed that they lived by the Bible and were people who worshipped God more than what most people did.I learned through the book that this is not always true. I thought the children had as much access to the Bible as they would want.The Father of the household did not always permit this. The children have very much responsibility at an early age. I am glad I read the book. I will look at their lives totally different from now on. V.Bowlds
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Summary: I am shunned by JW so I know what he talks about.
Review: The practice that Ottie tells about in the book touches home with me. While I was never Amish , I once attended Jehovah's Witnesses Hall for several years, I never became a JW but now I am shunned by family and have been announced by the local elders that they are not to associate with me. Sad thats not the way Jesus means it to be.
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Summary: Interesting and unexpecting
Review: This book is a perfect lead into the world of the Amish and their beliefs. I was very intersted in this topic and wondered why anyone would live in this millinieum and still be so backwards in knowledge and beliefs. We all know in our minds that what we are taught that relgion is only a way to keep civilization calm and civilized. Our beliefs in GOD are in our hearts and minds, not in our material possesions. Just because we do have heat and running water does not keep us from going to hell. What is hell but the earth we live in now, if you can survive hell on earth as we know it, with God in our hearts,we can suvive anything, even running water. Wake up everyone in the Amish society and smell the world we are living in, it is beautiful and we have all the oppportunities to get anything we want in life, without reprocusions of going to hell or not going to heaven. Amish society take advantage of the world out there, there is knowledge, power, love and plenty opppotunities for your children and their children to take advantage of. Amish kids don't stand to be abused, there is protection in the English world against all this abuse from your parents. And as far as teaching your kids to start work at an early age that is abuse within itself, where is childhood in your community? where the love amongs mother, father and kids? where is your heart and why is it so empty if you have GOD? and why are you so angry at the English people if you have GOD? Your god is selfish and rude. Attention unhappy people of the Amish society, get out while you can still enjoy what life you have left. Believe me its all good out here in the English world and the fruits of life is fantastic is you can achieve it and you can achieve it and then some in the English world.
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Summary: Great window to Amish culture
Review: This book offers a wonderful opportuntity to see how the Amish actually live from those who were there.A must-read to all!
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Summary: A glimpse of reality about the Amish
Review: This book shows the truth what most of the media and the public refuses to see about the Amish. While these instances in the book are rare, they are nonetheless real and do take place. I have seen several scandals similiar to these and have seen things that make this book look like a bedtime story. I was born and raised Amish and am glad to see the truth start to come out. I can attest to the fact it is very difficult to come out of a closed minded society such as the Amish and adapt to modern civil society. The education the Amish receive is a real handicap and so intended to keep the church members ignored and within the power of the church. The book is well written considering everyone interviewed grew up speaking German as their mother tongue. A good book that does a real good job of off setting the mainstream media and Hollywood version of the Amish the public is familiar with.
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Summary: why some Amish sought freedom & the bad side of Amish life
Review: This was the second book about the Amish that I read to satisfy my curiosity about Amish life. The stories in this book were written from interviews with people who have left the Amish life for various reasons. Before I read it I worried that the goal of the book was to slam the Amish revenge purposes or some other bad reason. After reading the book I realized that these are the stories of people in search of freedom, usually religious freedom. Others left to avoid sexual or physical abuse. Being an American I cannot be upset with x-Amish who are seeking the life that they want for themselves in the name of freedom and/or religious freedom. It is interesting to note that the Amish left Germany in the 1800s to seek religious freedom but according to this book, the community that was set up then prevented those born into the faith from practicing that same religious freedom. Because the Amish are born into the faith they are faced with a choice in their late teens to either join the Amish religion or to leave the community and never speak to their Amish relatives and friends again-what a tough choice if one has some doubt about whether to join the church or not. Reading this book allowed me to picture Amish life in more of a balanced and normal way than reading my first book "Rosanna of the Amish" which was written by a happy Amish man-it romanticized the Amish life and didn't have any negative aspects of Amish life. The complete lack of anything negative was suspicious to me. I was left wondering if Amish life was sheer perfection with all happiness and love (albeit laden with hard physical weather and lacking in comforts such as the use of running water and indoor plumbing). Some Amish people commit crimes but the Amish try to get the charges dropped in the American law system and they deal with (or not deal with) matters in their own way. I learned that children begin hard physical labor at a young age and that boys of 5 years old are doing the work of a full-grown man. Using some of the equipment is dangerous and it is reported that at least one major injury or death happens per week to children while performing hard labor tasks. Also it was mentioned that verbal acknowledgment of emotions (love) and physical affection (hugs and kisses) from parent to child is not done in the Amish world. Sharing emotion is looked down upon (how sad). Spanking and harsh beatings are the norm even for accidents or for slow manual labor according to a story in the book. This book made me realize that some Amish are as curious about the non-Amish as some of us are about them. Some younger Amish sneak in bits and pieces of "English" life. For example, some teens sneak out at night to drink alcohol and take illegal drugs experimentally, much the same as some American teens do. Some "English" sneak money to Amish children who sneak to buy candy or portable radios (both are prohibited). In one case an Amish girl is not taught about sexuality or pregnancy and ends up surprised to find herself a pregnant as an unmarried teen. Some Amish families experience incest, physical and verbal abuse, just as in American culture. The most stunning thing I learned was that the Amish use a Bible written in high German whilst the women are only allowed to learn Pennsylvania Dutch and English languages and are prevented from attending school past the 8th grade. Bible study is prohibited and only the ministers are allowed to read a Bible. This means that the Amish rely solely on the ministers to relay the information in the Bible. Several of the x-Amish in this book explain that most of the hundreds of rules imposed on how the Amish may live are written by the religious men and are not directly stated in the Bible even though they are told they are living as the Bible instructs. Simply being caught reading a Bible can result in ex-communication. Hearing the stories about people leaving the Amish in search of living what they perceive as a more true religious Christian life was enlightening and interesting to me. This book tells stories and opinions of how some people have found inconsistencies in the content Bible vs. what the Amish ministers say is in the Bible. (They were able in various ways to get a copy of a Bible in English and began reading it themselves and having conversations with non-Amish about Bible content, which is against the rules.) The book also describes how different Amish settlements may have different rules such as manner of dress and what types of machinery are allowed. The differences between Amish and Mennonite are explained as are the exact definitions of banned, shunned, and ex-communicated. I found this book enlightening. It is a fast read, easily read in a few hours. Be cautioned that some of the content is not suitable for young children, such as details about father/daughter incest and sexual abuse.
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Summary: I have more respect than that for the Amish.
Review: Why not just leave quietly. I think the book is very distasteful. No need to slam those who are happy with the Amish lifestyle. There are many Amish who are Christians, and love Jesus. Very poor book.
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