Anna’s Choice

Your comments to my last post, How Is Anna Doing? really have made me think. About community and belonging; about personal freedom and choice; and about how the Amish preachers are right when they say that you are either Amish or not. They say you cannot have it both ways; you are either separate from the…

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How is Anna Doing?

Many people have asked me this question since the PBS documentary "The Amish: Shunned" premiered on February 4. The answer is, "I wish I knew."  The footage of Anna returning to her community was taken on January 29, 2013 for the documentary. The film has been taken off the American Experience website, but you can still…

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Traveling and New Perspectives

David and I returned from a trip to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is always fun to travel with David. We tend to get into deep conversations on road trips, which I enjoy very much. And David and I are now co-presenters at the talks, given he wrote part of the book. Our first presentation…

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Speaking of Bonnets and Head Coverings

My friend, Shirley Hershey Showalter, has done a thought-provoking blog post called Mennonite Bonnet and Covering Stories in preparation of the joint talk she and I have scheduled for next Tuesday, February 25, in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. This talk is sponsored by the Milanof-Schock Library and will be held at the Mount Joy Mennonite Church. We are going…

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Coming to a Venue Near You…

A week after the film "The Amish: Shunned" premiered on American Experience, and also a week after Bonnet Strings was released, my new agent, Heidi Ihrig, and I are busily scheduling for the cross-country book tour that David and I would like to make to promote Bonnet Strings and its prequel Why I Left the Amish. There is…

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Sticky Bun Recipe and More…

Welcome to my new blog! Two days after the premiering of the PBS documentary, "The Amish: Shunned," I am looking out my window at the slanted afternoon sunlight shining on the white buildings across the street, I am taking a deep breath. I must have been stressed leading up to the launching of my book on…

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Announcing the Winner and Updates

I would like to thank all of you who participated in the informal survey about maintaining a blog and Facebook account. Not only did you cast your vote, but most of you also gave reasons why you were voting the way you did. Many thanks — that was very helpful information.   If I do need to…

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An Informal Survey and a Giveaway of Bonnet Strings

First I would like to announce a giveaway of Bonnet Strings: An Amish Woman’s Ties to Two Worlds. Please read down through this post to find out how to enter. The team at Herald Press and I are in the countdown… there are sixteen days left until Bonnet Strings is launched. Last week it felt like…

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