Changing of the Seasons

Early November has been a time of transition for me, starting from the time I was twenty and left the only life I’d known to start a whole new life in Vermont. I left home for the first time on November 7, 1977. Me at twenty years old Three years later, on November 7, 1980, I…

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Modeling for Cover of Bonnet Strings

There are rapid developments in the publishing of my second memoir (including the title) now called Bonnet Strings: An Amish Woman’s Ties to Two Worlds. Herald Press, of MennoMedia, has a wonderful team of professionals, who are capably shepherding this project towards completion.This past weekend, David and I traveled to Ohio, where we met up…

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The Waning Days of Summer

My head is bursting with the joy of the unknown. My heart is expanding a thousand fold. ~ Rumi I have watched one gorgeous late-summer, early-autumn day go by my window after another. This is the time of year I love — these days when the temperature is perfect, and the air is crisp. I…

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The Writing Life and Amish Descendant Scholarship Fund

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. Please bear with me. I am in the process of rewriting my second book with a very tight deadline (October 1). It is quite intense and also very exciting. In my major revision, I am adding on chapters to those I’d already written. It is amazing how many…

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Serenity, Amish Style

Book Review of Great Possessions: An Amish Farmer’s Journal by David Kline, with a foreword by Wendell Berry What a great read this book is! Some people think it’s a compliment to say “I couldn’t put the book down.” In this case, I deliberately did put it down after each chapter, savoring one each day,…

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Book Review of “The Amish”

The Amish by Donald Kraybill, Karen Johnson-Weiner, and Steven Nolt is a comprehensive look at the Amish culture and religion. It is well-researched and well-written and is divided into five sections and twenty-two chapters. Each chapter begins with an extract of the material to follow. I am focusing my review on several sections that stood out…

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Amish Descendant Scholarship Fund

I am announcing to all who might be interested that the Amish Descendant Scholarship Fund is now taking applications from eligible candidates. For more about this, please visit The Amish Descendant Scholarship blog. If you know of anyone who left the Amish and is in the process of acquiring a college education, please let that…

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Travels

This past week David and I drove to New York City. I had an interview with a Brazilian documentary company. The director wanted to get my perspective on the Amish concept of time. It was a great interview. It’s amazing how many different philosophical directions that topic can take. David and I had a short…

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