Book Review~Called To Be Amish

Book Description:

Fewer than one hundred outsiders have joined the Old–Order Amish—and stayed—since 1950. Marlene C. Miller is one of them.

In this rare memoir, Marlene recounts her unhappy and abusive childhood, how she throws herself into cheerleading and marching band, and how she falls in love with Johnny, the gentle young Amish man who helps her lace her ice skates.

Against the wishes of both sets of parents, Marlene and Johnny get married and begin a family. Follow the author on this unusual journey to find out how God’s love called her out of bitterness and depression and into the warm embrace of her new Amish community.

Accompany her as she dons an Amish dress and prayer covering and gets baptized. Learn how she endures the strain of ten children, a hundred-acre farm, and accidents and tragedy, and find out how she comes close to walking away from it all. Turning Amish has proven to be anything but plain and simple for this former majorette. But nearly fifty years later, Marlene is still living out God’s call as an Old Order Amish woman.

My Thoughts: 
If you've read this blog at all, you probably know I am fascinated by the Amish and Mennonite, and love reading about them, both fiction and non-fiction.  Most non-fiction books about these faiths are about members leaving the community, so I was very excited to read Called To Be Amish!  Author Marlene C. Miller is one of the rare group of English who became-and stayed-Amish.  She has been Old Order Amish for 47 years.  

Called to Be Amish described the author's dysfunctional childhood, the rough early years of her marriage, and her eventual conversion to the Amish.  I found the stories of her life over the years fascinating and enjoyable.  Imagine living your entire life with all the modern conveniences, and then giving it all up.  The only negative for me about the book was I felt the story jumped around sometimes.  I would be reading about something that happened when she had seven children, and then all of a sudden she would be telling about an event that happened when she had three children. It did get a little confusing. Other than that, the author did a wonderful job of telling about her life, and she did so in a way that made me feel I was sitting down chatting with a friend.   

At the end of the book are some extras: A Day in the Life of the Author, Marlene's Favorite Recipes, and FAQs About the Amish: The Author Answers.  If you enjoy reading about the Amish or Amish fiction, Called to Be Amish is definitely a book you need to read!

Read more reviews of this book at Litfuse.  You can purchase your own copy from MennoMedia.

*Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book free from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed here are my own.