Simple Joys of the Amish Life

Mindy Starns Clark, Georgia Varozza, and Laurie Snow Hein

Simple Joys of the Amish Life is a small book that introduces the Amish lifestyle to people who don't know it well. I lived in NE Ohio many years and often visited Holmes County, one of the two largest Amish areas in the United States. This easy book taught me a things I didn't know, like that the Amish don't dislike technology or forbid it. They just don't use it in their homes to distract them. While their homes don't have telephones, there is a communal one nearby for emergencies or just in case.

Mindy Starns Clark writes most of the short descriptions of the Amish, their Christian faith, and their lifestyles. She sums up the Amish this way:

"To best understand Amish life, it helps to grasp the basic values that guide almost every facet of their faith. The Amish...

• surrender the self-will to God
• submit to authority, to the faith community, and to its rules
• separate from the world and become a 'peculiar people' by turning to family and the faith community, by honoring history and tradition, and by turning the other cheek
• simplify through the practice of humility, modesty, thrift, and peacefulness"

Georgia Varozza adds wonderful Amish recipes from soups to desserts. My father and brothers love shoo fly pie, a molasses based pie. There's a recipe for it in this book. She also adds Georgia's Table Tidbits throughout this book, showing how food is important in all aspects of the Amish culture.

Simple Joys of the Amish Life is then illustrated with Laurie Snow Hein's soft watercolor type paintings of Amish children and animals. The beginning of each section starts with a full page illustration. Then small ones are sprinkled throughout the rest of the book to highlight the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle. The book cover shown above gives an example of the types of pictures shown throughout.

The section titles in Simple Joys of the Amish Life describe the purpose of this book: The Joy of Amish Life, The Blessings of a Simpler Way, The Love of Family and Children, The Significance of Faith, The Unity of Community, The Gift of Hard Work, The Value of Celebrations and Ceremonies, and The Sweetness of Humility.

Mindy Starns Clark, Georgia Varozza, and Laurie Snow Hein show that the Amish live a simple life by choice. They are intelligent, strong people with a strong faith in God and Christ. Each person is given a chance to choose that lifestyle for himself or herself as adulthood is reached. There are less than 50 pages in this book. Simple Joys of the Amish Life is an eloquent introduction to the Amish in the United States.

Provided by author for review