Amish women : lives and stories

Written by a woman who grew up in an Old Order Amish community and church, Amish Women: Lives and Stories offers a gentle, lyrical inside view of Amish womanhood. How are Amish women unique? How are they typical? How do they find expression in a place that values community togetherness above all else? This generous and heartwarming memoir explores these questions to discover what it means to be a woman and to be Amish. Meet Naomi whose favorite author is C.S. Lewis. Rebecca who is single and has a career. Susie who is an artist. And Esther who has lost two children and spends much of her time reaching out to other members of her community who have suffered loss. Louise Stoltzfus gathered her stories through a series of interviews and conversations with Amish women, many of whom she has known most of her life. Little has been written about Amish women. How are they regarded within their highly structured community? How whole are they as individuals? This insightful, gently probing, yet always respectful text opens a door to this nearly hidden world. Profiles 10 Amish women; written by a woman reared in an Amish family.

From the Inside Flap

Written by a woman who grew up in an Old Order Amish community and church, Amish Women: Lives and Stories offers a gentle, lyrical inside view of Amish womanhood.

How are Amish women unique? How are they typical? How do they find expression in a place that values community togetherness above all else? This generous and heartwarming memoir explores these questions to discover what it means to be a woman and to be Amish.

Meet Naomi whose favorite author is C.S. Lewis. Rebecca who is single and has a career. Susie who is an artist. And Esther who has lost two children and spends much of her time reaching out to other members of her community who have suffered loss.

Louise Stoltzfus gathered her stories through a series of interviews and conversations with Amish women, many of whom she has known most of her life.

Stoltzfus is an editor for Good Books and has co-authored four cookbooks--The Central Market Cookbook, The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals, Favorite Recipes from Quilters, and Lancaster County Cookbook. She is also director of The People's Place Gallery, Intercourse, Pennsylvania, and lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, ten miles from her ancestral home.

Publishers Weekly

In conversations with 10 Amish women, Stoltzfus explores her own Amish heritage. (Apr.)

Offers An Inside View Of Amish Women Through Interviews And Conversations With Women Whom The Author Has Known Most Of Her Life. I Was Once Amish (p.3) -- They Were My Grandmothers (p.5) -- She Is My Mother (p.15) -- She Likes Being Amish (p.27) -- Of Doughnuts And Children (p.43) -- Of Swiss Chalets And Amish Roots (p.53) -- Heaven Is A Great Interest (p.64) -- I Love My Community (p.78) -- I Am A Shepherdess (p.93) -- Of Mountain Homes And Amish Ways (p.105) -- I Am Glad To Have Been Amish (p.118) -- About The Author (p.123). Louise Stoltzfus. The author profiles ten Amish women drawing from her own experiences growing up in an Amish family