Crossing Over

Crossing Over
by Ruth Irene Garrett

I am fascinated by the Amish. Always have been. Well ... ever since I was old enough to watch the movie Witness. I'm pretty sure that was the start of my fascination.

I will not lie. I love modern conveniences. I love my iPhone and my computer and my food processor. But .... there is something about living the simple life that appeals to me. Little House on the Prairie simple. Amish simple. Barn raisings ... I would love to be a part of a barn raising ! I think the appeal is the community. In Little House it's all about family. About being together around the dinner table. About reading out loud, snuggled under quilts to the light of a candle. The Amish ... big community dinners, communal farming, the whole community coming together to raise a barn. You know ?

That fascination is what lead me to pick up this book from the library.

Did I like it ? It was ok. Not a book I couldn't put down or one that I would say I enjoyed overly. But, I read it because I was interested.

This book is from the point of view of one woman. And so I take the whole thing with a grain of salt. The thing that struck me about it though was the controlling nature that she portrayed of the Amish people. She was put in 'the ban' ... excommunicated, because she married a non Amish man and moved out of the Amish community. Therefore, she could no longer be part of the lives of her family or friends. The only communication seemed to be them trying to get her to realize the error of her ways.

It's a very religious book, in the sense that a lot of it is centered on the Amish religion.

Would I recommend it ? Probably not to most people. But if you are interested in the Amish ... and in one woman's story ... then yeah, go for it.