New York TimeseBook bestseller!One fateful starless night, 17-year-old Ira Wagler got up at 2 AM, left a scribbled note under his pillow, packed all of his earthly belongings into in a little black duffel bag, and walked away from his home in the Amish settlement of Bloomfield, Iowa. Now, in this heartwarming memoir, Ira paints a vivid portrait of Amish life–from his childhood days on the family … the family farm, his Rumspringa rite of passage at age 16, to his ultimate decision to leave the Amish Church for good at age 26. Growing Up Amishis the true story of one man’s quest to discover who he is and where he belongs. Readers will laugh, cry, and be inspired by this charming yet poignant coming of age story set amidst the backdrop of one of the most enigmatic cultures in America today–the Old Order Amish.
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Wow! This book was so very sad, but it took me where I had so very hoped it would go. It didn’t take the roads I thought it would, but what do I know? I didn’t grow up Amish and I didn’t write the book. I have always been sort of lured toward the ideas of the plain life, the simpler, old-timey kind of ways I thought I was perceiving, but I …
So sad to see depression not addressed, hopefully things are better in the current time
I first encountered this memoir while looking for a quilt rack in the heart of Northern Indiana Amish country with my mom. Walking through Shipshewana and seeing the legions of Amish, bicycling, buggy-ing, and strolling through the streets, I became more and more intrigued by the idea of their lives: no electricity, no cars, no conveniences of any …