A work Booklist called ଯving and life–affirming, Crossing Over is the true story of one woman’s extraordinary flight from the protected world of the Amish people to the chaos of contemporary life.Ruth Irene Garrett was the fifth of seven children raised in Kalona, Iowa, as a member of a strict Old Order Amish community. She was brought up in a world filled with rigid rules and intense secrecy, in … rigid rules and intense secrecy, in an environment where the dress, buggies, codes of conduct, and way of life differed even from other Amish societies only 100 miles away. This Old Order community actively avoided all interaction with ೨e Englishߜ’96 everyone who lived on the outside. As a result, Ruth knew only one way of life, and one way of doing things.
This compelling narrative takes us inside a hidden community, offering a striking look as one woman comes to terms with her discontent and ultimately leaves her family, faith and the sheltered world of her childhood. Unsatisfied, she bravely crosses over to contemporary life to fully explore the foreign and frightening reality in hope of better understanding her emotional and spiritual desires. What emerges is a powerful tale of one woman’s search for meaning and the extraordinary lessons she learns along the way.
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Didn’t like
Interesting and informative.
It’s been a while since read this book, but I find it highly disturbing that she left her Amish community for a much older pervert who obviously groomed her. It is what it is, I guess. He should have went to jail. I have people in my extended family like him. They all belong in jail. The pevert was hard to ignore, but other than that the …
It was good.
Ridiculous. This girls husband needs to get his fat butt OFF the couch, be accountable, and support his wife! This book wasn’t written to inform or entertain, it was written for pure financial gain!
Was hoping for more details about Amish life and customs
this is an o.k. book–
It was interesting and educational.
Interesting perspective into the Amish ways…well written.
Non-fiction
Does .not compare at all to other young Amish women’s stories of the anguish of leaving the Amish. Nothing in depth.
Thought this would give insight into the AMISH way of life. More about a troubled girl and her unhappiness with her family of origin… Disappointing!!!
It was a confusing read for me. The author seemed genuinely surprised that her family didn’t keep in contact after she left their faith even though that is a major tenet of the faith she was raised in. And it seemed that many of their money-making forays involved the Amish in some form; the calendars, cookbooks, distribution, etc. – straddling the …
I really enjoyed this book and learning about the Amish ways of life, good and bad.
A really good read. I will be reading her other books.
It was a surprise to learn that the “typical” Amish lifestyle is quite different than the one portrayed for “the English”. This is a haunting story of struggle from an Amish woman who bravely “crossed over” for a better life.
This book is about a young woman who struggles with the strict Amish faith she was raised in and eventually makes the decision to leave. She had a kind and caring mother but her father was both mentally and physically abusive and was one of the main reasons she left her home and the Amish community.
The book touches lightly on her childhood and …
I enjoyed her life story, very simply written and lacks any complexity or deep thoughts
The author was clearly damaged by her repressive upbringing and made poor choices as a result, depressing scenario. She also misrepresents Scripture to back up her poor choices.
The author didn’t talk about her Amish story enough, focusing mostly on repeating over and over that it was hard to leave her family and that they judged her and shunned her and how she felt about it. Became redundant and dull.
Enjoyed this book. Very informative.