A Book Review

Shirley Showalter, author of the blog 100 Memoirs, has posted a review of my memoir Why I Left the Amish. It is a review that touched me to the point of tears because of the way that she understood the book (and my story), right down to its core. I think she hits the mark between honesty of detail…

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Thoughts about the “English” Riddle

The other day, I posed a question to my readers about why the Amish lifestyle is so romanticized compared to the Mennonites. You can read my post and the stimulating discussion that followed here. Based on what I heard from many of you, and after pondering the issues that these ideas triggered, I am going to…

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Happy New Year!

It seems that David and I don’t really have one New Year’s Eve tradition… if anything our tradition is to do something different each year. Last night was no exception. We went to several performances at First Night in Northampton and had dinner at the Green Street Cafe for a very tasty dinner. We were…

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An “English” Riddle

As the year draws to a close, I have a question to pose to my readers. This is something I've been pondering for a while, and have discussed with my friend, Monica (the Mennobrarian). She and I could only ponder the question, for we don't have the answer. The question stems from knowing that the…

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Reflections

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. ~ Thoreau Why do we use the term “New Year” yet we don’t have a way to refer to the year that is drawing to a close, like “Old Year?” Why do we make new year’s resolutions without reflecting on what…

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The Proud Mama

My editor at Michigan State University Press, Julie Loehr, called me yesterday and the first thing she asked me was, "Are you the proud mama?" We had a good laugh, but the sad thing is, I am! I know that my book is not a living, breathing being, so it's not quite the same as…

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And the Winner Is:

Ta-Dah! N. R. Williams!  Congratulations, Nancy! Please send me your address, and I will send this out as soon as the book arrives (hopefully tomorrow).  You can visit Nancy’s blog by clicking here. Thank you, everyone, for participating in the drawing. I enjoyed hearing about your favorite Christmas traditions, and I thank you kindly for…

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My Favorite Tradition

At Christmastime when I was a little girl, I used to gaze across the yard and admire our “English” neighbor’s colorful and sparkling Christmas tree. I used to ask my mother, “Why can’t we have a Christmas tree?” She would normally sigh and give me the usual Amish answer, “It’s just the way it is.”…

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