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True Stories of X-Amish: Banned - Shunned - Excommunicated ReviewThis was the second book about the Amish that I read to satisfy my curiosity about Amish life. The stories in this book were written from interviews with people who have left the Amish life for various reasons. Before I read it I worried that the goal of the book was to slam the Amish revenge purposes or some other bad reason. After reading the book I realized that these are the stories of people in search of freedom, usually religious freedom. Others left to avoid sexual or physical abuse. Being an American I cannot be upset with x-Amish who are seeking the life that they want for themselves in the name of freedom and/or religious freedom. It is interesting to note that the Amish left Germany in the 1800s to seek religious freedom but according to this book, the community that was set up then prevented those born into the faith from practicing that same religious freedom. Because the Amish are born into the faith they are faced with a choice in their late teens to either join the Amish religion or to leave the community and never speak to their Amish relatives and friends again-what a tough choice if one has some doubt about whether to join the church or not.
Reading this book allowed me to picture Amish life in more of a balanced and normal way than reading my first book "Rosanna of the Amish" which was written by a happy Amish man-it romanticized the Amish life and didn't have any negative aspects of Amish life. The complete lack of anything negative was suspicious to me. I was left wondering if Amish life was sheer perfection with all happiness and love (albeit laden with hard physical weather and lacking in comforts such as the use of running water and indoor plumbing).
Some Amish people commit crimes but the Amish try to get the charges dropped in the American law system and they deal with (or not deal with) matters in their own way. I learned that children begin hard physical labor at a young age and that boys of 5 years old are doing the work of a full-grown man. Using some of the equipment is dangerous and it is reported that at least one major injury or death happens per week to children while performing hard labor tasks. Also it was mentioned that verbal acknowledgment of emotions (love) and physical affection (hugs and kisses) from parent to child is not done in the Amish world. Sharing emotion is looked down upon (how sad). Spanking and harsh beatings are the norm even for accidents or for slow manual labor according to a story in the book.
This book made me realize that some Amish are as curious about the non-Amish as some of us are about them. Some younger Amish sneak in bits and pieces of "English" life. For example, some teens sneak out at night to drink alcohol and take illegal drugs experimentally, much the same as some American teens do. Some "English" sneak money to Amish children who sneak to buy candy or portable radios (both are prohibited). In one case an Amish girl is not taught about sexuality or pregnancy and ends up surprised to find herself a pregnant as an unmarried teen. Some Amish families experience incest, physical and verbal abuse, just as in American culture.
The most stunning thing I learned was that the Amish use a Bible written in high German whilst the women are only allowed to learn Pennsylvania Dutch and English languages and are prevented from attending school past the 8th grade. Bible study is prohibited and only the ministers are allowed to read a Bible. This means that the Amish rely solely on the ministers to relay the information in the Bible. Several of the x-Amish in this book explain that most of the hundreds of rules imposed on how the Amish may live are written by the religious men and are not directly stated in the Bible even though they are told they are living as the Bible instructs. Simply being caught reading a Bible can result in ex-communication. Hearing the stories about people leaving the Amish in search of living what they perceive as a more true religious Christian life was enlightening and interesting to me. This book tells stories and opinions of how some people have found inconsistencies in the content Bible vs. what the Amish ministers say is in the Bible. (They were able in various ways to get a copy of a Bible in English and began reading it themselves and having conversations with non-Amish about Bible content, which is against the rules.)
The book also describes how different Amish settlements may have different rules such as manner of dress and what types of machinery are allowed. The differences between Amish and Mennonite are explained as are the exact definitions of banned, shunned, and ex-communicated.
I found this book enlightening. It is a fast read, easily read in a few hours. Be cautioned that some of the content is not suitable for young children, such as details about father/daughter incest and sexual abuse.
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