Growing Up Amish

Author: Ira Wagler
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, 2011
Pages: 288
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: One fateful starless night, 17-year-old Ira Wagler got up a 2am, left a scribbled note under his pillow, packed all of this earthly belongings into 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 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 Amish is the true story of one man's quest to discover who he is and where he belongs. 

Review: I was looking for a short-ish audio book that I'd be able to finish this month and I saw this one on the library shelf. Growing up in western Pennsylvania, it's not uncommon to pass an Amish buggy on the road, or to drive by their farms in the countryside. I love American History and to me the Amish are a glimpse into our country's pioneering days. I find it fascinating. While I'm far less "judge-y" now, as a child I could not understand why anyone would choose to live that way long-term.

A couple of years ago my sister was researching our family tree and discovered that our paternal grandmother's ancestors were in the first group of 500 Swiss/Germans that traveled from Europe in the early 1700s and settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Ultimately, they settled permanently in Lancaster, which is still well-known and one of the largest contingents of Amish.

If I'm being honest, I was disappointed in this memoir. If the reader is hoping to find out what it's like to "grow up Amish," this isn't the book. This about Ira leaving the Amish not once, not twice, not even three times, but five.

Also, I wanted to know where Ira is today. Where he went and what he did after he left his Amish community for good. Did he marry, have children? 

You can feel the inner struggle, but his motivations and what, if any growth, he experienced when he was finally able to break-away. The potential was here, but the author needed to be vulnerable with his audience.