Fans of Amish Fiction discussion

So, I am 1/2 Amish. My grandfather and grandmother are both 100% Pennsylvanian Dutch. My grandpa is the youngest of 12, and his sister was the last in the family to wear the Amish dress, which is probably how I got into the whole genre.

I have a very Pennsylvanian Dutch last name, but I have never had a chance to make it out to Pennsylvania to see Amish country, though I would absolutely love to. Unfortunately my dad's side of the family is not very close with one another, so this probably why there was never much emphasis on me visiting.

What is your story? And if you're not of Amish descent, how did you get into this genre?

My family background is Pennsylvania Dutch on my mother's side, and although nobody speaks it any longer, we've held onto the traditions when it comes to food, etc. I've always lived in rural Pennsylvania and have known a number of people who are Plain.

Marta Perry

I am not of Amish decent but I love visiting Lancaster County, PA! When I got my kindle for Christmas last year, I grabbed The Shunning by Beverly Lewis as a freebie. When I was down in Amish country in May, I saw that book on the shelf in an Amish store. I pointed it out to my hubby and told him that I got that book for free. We both read the back and thought it sounded cool especailly since we were down here. So I read it while I was on vacation and I became hooked!

I'm fairly certain that I'm not of Amish decent (rather obvious as I'm British!) but as my family tree suggests that we might be Polish or Russian, we may have Dutch ancestors somewhere...

My first foray into anything Amish was when I picked up Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult on a whim in a bookshop and was hooked on both Picoult and my interest in the Amish. However, Christian fiction is kind of hard to come by over here in the UK, unless you visit a Christian bookshop, of which the closest one is about 40 minutes drive from my home town (and has since been shut down, sadly). So it was a couple of years before one of my mum's friends discovered that christianbook.com ships to the UK and we bought a couple of Beverly Lewis's books in a sale for a couple of dollars. One of these was The Shunning, which seems to be the first Amish novel that most people read.

I know that I could never simplify my life as much as the Amish do, but I love the way that they place so much importance on their families and communities. It's encouraged me to try to get to know my neighbours better - and also to appreciate the beauty of nature more and to want to experiment with new recipes!

Everyone has a type of book that they read when they're in need of a break from real life - for me, this used to be my childhood favourites, Nancy Drew and the Babysitters Club. Amish books have joined this selection and they make excellent comfort reads. I'm in my second year of an English Literature degree and this involves a lot of heavy reading, so I'm glad that I have authors like Amy Clipston and Beverly Lewis to help me relax after studying.