True Amish

The Amish, one of America's most intriguingly private, unique, and often misunderstood religious communities, have survived for 300 years! How has that happened? While much has been written on the Amish, little has been revealed about their history. This book brings together in one volume a thorough history of the Amish people. From their beginnings in Europe through their settlement in North America, the Amish have struggled to maintain their beliefs and traditions in often hostile settings.

When Misty was six years old, her family started to live and dress like the Amish. Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch where they were subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and extreme physical violence. When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community where they were adopted and became baptized members. Misty was devastated to once again find herself in a world of fear, animal cruelty, and sexual abuse.

In 1977, in an Ohio Amish community, pregnant wife and mother Ida Stutzman perished during a barn fire. The coroner’s report: natural causes. Ida’s husband, Eli, was never considered a suspect. But when he eventually rejected the faith and took his son, Danny, with him, murder followed. What really happened to Ida? The dubious circumstances of the tragic blaze were willfully ignored and Eli’s shifting narratives disregarded.

From bestselling author Beth Wiseman come four sweet stories centered around celebrations in the Amish community: rumschpringe, baptism, weddings, and Christmas. The Gift of Sisters Hannah and Rachel are fraternal twins approaching their sixteenth birthday—a time when they will be allowed to...

Romance is bound to strike a chord when the young people of Bird-in-Hand join together to bring their community the gift of song. Hymn of Praise Sharon Lambert and Jay Smoker have been friends for a long time, but lately Jay has seen Sharon in a new light. They begin spending time together, and...

From best-selling authors Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Kathleen Fuller, and Ruth Reid comes An Amish Home, a beautiful collection of four novellas that spread the warmth of Amish living with every moment.

Raised in a broken family and emotionally overlooked, Sherry Gore grew up without a solid foundation, a prisoner of her own poor choices, and at times without hope. A series of terrible mistakes left her feeling wrecked and alone and a sudden tragedy threw Sherry into an emotional tailspin too...

The remarkable response of the Amish Community to the horrific shooting of 10 schoolgirls at Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania in October 2006 stunned the larger world. Amish Grace tells the incredible story of this community's reaction to the senseless shooting and explores its profoundly countercultural practice of forgiveness.

Gregarious Rose Lehman, who's always the life of the Amish youth singings, is determined to marry the bishop's son, Reuben Byler - until the handsome Army buddy of her future brother-in-law shows up in Lancaster County. In comparison to Trevor, Reuben seems downright boring. Trevor shares Rose's sense of fun and adventure, and her easygoing disposition. When her sister Lila's buggy is rear-ended and Lila is horribly injured, Rose finds herself with more freedom than she's ever experienced.

On the night of September 6, 2011, terror called at the Amish home of the Millers. Mrs. Miller opened the door to her five estranged adult sons, a daughter, and their spouses. Within moments, the men had pulled their frightened father out of bed and sheared his hair and beard. The women then turned on Mrs. Miller, yanking her prayer cap from her head and shredding it before cutting off her waist-long hair. About twenty minutes later, the attackers fled into the darkness, taking their parents' hair as a trophy.

When her husband of 30 years runs off with a college student named Cherri, Jane Delight returns to Pennsylvania to work in her Amish sister's cupcake store. Having lost everything in the divorce, Jane now finds herself sharing an apartment with two feisty octogenarians and their quirky cat, Mr. Crumbles. But there is no time to despair. A man is murdered in the cupcake store, and now Jane is the prime suspect. Enter brooding Detective Damon McCloud, a Scot with a tragic past and a desire for justice.

Abram Lapp believes he could love his neighbor forever, but Rachel Ann is enjoying her Rumschpringe, exploring Englisch life with a very Englisch boy named Michael. As Abram watches Rachel Ann stray from the life he had hoped for them, he regrets not telling her that his feelings for her have deepened. Rachel Ann loves the freedom she has away from the familiar Amish rules and responsibilities. But when tragedy strikes and her brother is critically wounded in an accident, she begins to feel a pull toward home.

Like most Amish children, Eirene had a carefree childhood in a tight-knit family life in the Old Order Amish community where she grew up Indiana. Though she had no indoor plumbing, no electricity, and no modern conveniences, her young life was full of joy. When Eirene becomes pregnant and marries at the tender age of 17, the harsh reality of her new life sets in. Though she loves being a mother, and she loves her family, Eirene knows there has to be more to life than being a housewife confined to her home. Doesn’t God have a bigger purpose for her? Wasn’t she meant for more?

This second book by the authors of the award-winning Amish Grace sheds further light on the Amish, this time on their faith, spirituality, and spiritual practices. They interpret the distinctive practices of the Amish way of life and spirituality in their cultural context and explore their applicability for the wider world.

Take one thoroughly modern gal with a recessionary income problem, mix with the practices of a culture that has proved to be recession-proof, and what have you got? A financial planner in a straw hat. When writer Lorilee Craker learned that the Amish are not just surviving but thriving in the economic downturn, she decided to find out why.

New York Times best-selling author Gregg Olsen and true crime journalist Kevin M. Sullivan travel down a bizarre trail of murder into notorious Pennsylvania. A seemingly normal husband father of two decides to kill young girls after storming an Amish schoolhouse, and sex many have been the prime motivator. A young high school student has a secret desire for murder, and decides a middle of the night visit to his best friend’s house will do nicely to satiate his hunger to kill.

It was the time when I was to work on Amish culture for my studies. I had heard a lot about the Amish through Tom, who was a good friend of mine. I wanted to make the study very positive, so I decided to visit an Amish village. Tom also came to support me. After a lot of effort, we found Abram, who was Amish and working in the same hotel where we were staying. Abram helped us to reach an Amish village. On the very first day, I saw a beautiful girl, Ruth and from the second day I found myself following her.

This is the true story of Ora-Jay and Irene Eash, Amish farmers from northwest Montana whose lives changed in an instant when a semi-truck struck the family buggy, killing their two young daughters. After the accident, the couple turned to their Amish community for comfort, but they remained...