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Visits with the Amish: Impressions of the Plain Life
Who are the “plain people,” the men and women who till their fields with horse and plow, travel by horse and buggy, live without electricity and telephones, and practice “help thy neighbor” in daily life? Linda Egenes visited with her Old Order Amish neighbors in southeast Iowa for thirteen years before writing this informative and companionable introduction to their lifeways.
Drawn to their slower pace of life and their resistance to the lures of a consumer society, Egenes found a warm welcome among the Amish, and in return she has given us an equally warm perspective on Amish family life as she experienced it. The Amish value harmony in family life above all, and Egenes found an abundance of harmony as she savored homemade ice cream in a kitchen where the refrigerator ran on kerosene, learned to milk a two-bucket cow, helped cook dinner for nine in a summer kitchen, spent the day in a one-room schoolhouse, and sang “The Hymn of Praise” in its original German at Sunday service.
Whether quilting at a weekly sewing circle above the Stringtown Grocery, playing Dutch Blitz and Dare Base with schoolchildren, learning the intricacies of harness making, or mulching strawberries in a huge garden, Egenes was treated with the kindness, respect, and dignity that exemplify the strong community ties of the Amish. Her engaging account of her visits with the Amish, beautifully illustrated with woodcuts by Caldecott Medal winner Mary Azarian, reveals the serene and peaceful ways of a plain people whose lives are anything but plain.
Drawn to their slower pace of life and their resistance to the lures of a consumer society, Egenes found a warm welcome among the Amish, and in return she has given us an equally warm perspective on Amish family life as she experienced it. The Amish value harmony in family life above all, and Egenes found an abundance of harmony as she savored homemade ice cream in a kitchen where the refrigerator ran on kerosene, learned to milk a two-bucket cow, helped cook dinner for nine in a summer kitchen, spent the day in a one-room schoolhouse, and sang “The Hymn of Praise” in its original German at Sunday service.
Whether quilting at a weekly sewing circle above the Stringtown Grocery, playing Dutch Blitz and Dare Base with schoolchildren, learning the intricacies of harness making, or mulching strawberries in a huge garden, Egenes was treated with the kindness, respect, and dignity that exemplify the strong community ties of the Amish. Her engaging account of her visits with the Amish, beautifully illustrated with woodcuts by Caldecott Medal winner Mary Azarian, reveals the serene and peaceful ways of a plain people whose lives are anything but plain.
126 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 28, 2013
This book, Visits with the Amish, Impressions of the Plain Life by Linda Egenes, WITH WOODCUTS BY MARY AZARIAN astounds in a gentle way: the background matter, and the narratives, are full of love both because of the subject matter (the people the book is about) and the gentle flow of consciousness of the author creating the book (which we read). And the woodcut illustrations are worth the price of the book, too.
The book illustrates a way of life which strengthens by bringing the family members close to each other, and close to God.
The book has useful recipes. For food. But it shows how the Old Order Amish way of living works, too.
The author is a superlative writer.
Each chapter opens with exposition, as introduction and background, to the narrative of a visit, which follows. Excerpts from The Budget (a newspaper or periodical for the wider Amish community) give a broader area of information, i.e. other parts of the U.S.
The book is very interesting, fun and really rewarding reading. It's enjoyable to read. There are many informative and welcome facts about the customs.
The writer's style is unpretentious. The book is easy to read. It reads like a story. I have a simple and peaceful feeling while reading it.
Here is a quote from the third paragraph of Chapter 2: "The Amish believe that farmers live closest to God. 'On a farm, you can see that God is in all things that are alive and growing', explains Leah Peachy, an Amish woman I met in North Carolina."
The book illustrates a way of life which strengthens by bringing the family members close to each other, and close to God.
The book has useful recipes. For food. But it shows how the Old Order Amish way of living works, too.
The author is a superlative writer.
Each chapter opens with exposition, as introduction and background, to the narrative of a visit, which follows. Excerpts from The Budget (a newspaper or periodical for the wider Amish community) give a broader area of information, i.e. other parts of the U.S.
The book is very interesting, fun and really rewarding reading. It's enjoyable to read. There are many informative and welcome facts about the customs.
The writer's style is unpretentious. The book is easy to read. It reads like a story. I have a simple and peaceful feeling while reading it.
Here is a quote from the third paragraph of Chapter 2: "The Amish believe that farmers live closest to God. 'On a farm, you can see that God is in all things that are alive and growing', explains Leah Peachy, an Amish woman I met in North Carolina."
May 24, 2014
Sitting down to read Visits with the Amish, Impressions of the Plain Life, by Linda Egenes, I was instantly transported into a world where there is no sense of time. A world in which the pressures of my daily life—of the unanswered emails, the flashing phone notifications, and looming work deadlines simply fell away for a while.
This non-fiction book is written in a style that matches the candidness of which the Amish people live. It paints a picture of the simple yet profoundly family-oriented daily lives of a people who have turned away from the modern life as we know it.
Through Visits with the Amish, we get to peek into the closed off world of a people who live today as we did just a few generations ago. We get to meet their delightful children as they go about their daily chores, and ride with them on the Iowa farm roads in their black buggies. We get to go to their one room school houses for lessons, and sit in with the entire Amish community as they get together in their homes for their Sunday service.
Quite simply we get to see the world through their eyes—the eyes of a people untouched by our modern day distractions. And we get to live for a moment, if only in our imaginations, that sweetness of a simpler life.
This non-fiction book is written in a style that matches the candidness of which the Amish people live. It paints a picture of the simple yet profoundly family-oriented daily lives of a people who have turned away from the modern life as we know it.
Through Visits with the Amish, we get to peek into the closed off world of a people who live today as we did just a few generations ago. We get to meet their delightful children as they go about their daily chores, and ride with them on the Iowa farm roads in their black buggies. We get to go to their one room school houses for lessons, and sit in with the entire Amish community as they get together in their homes for their Sunday service.
Quite simply we get to see the world through their eyes—the eyes of a people untouched by our modern day distractions. And we get to live for a moment, if only in our imaginations, that sweetness of a simpler life.
June 28, 2008
Not as good as the Sue Bender book, Plain and Simple
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews