Growing Up Amish—Wagler

Growing Up Amish
by Ira Wagler
Tyndale: 2011,271pp.

Down through time many a teen has packed his bags and run away from home. Not often has running away proven to be the idyllic solution envisioned. And so it was with Ira Wagler, only his story is compounded by the complexities of growing up in an old-order Amish community where one’s unquestioned destiny is to remain Amish and damnation is the sure fate of any who leave the shelter of their Amish upbringing. Ira does run away, not once, not twice, but four times before he can escape the tentacles of obligation and guilt that seem always to insure his reluctant return.

This is his home-spun tale of what it is like to be Amish—the good, the tough, and the stifling aspects of such a ‘world’. And it is his testimony of overcoming the impossible expectation and burden of ‘just decide what’s right and then do it!’ It is a story of struggle and dogged determination and finally of relief coming from an unexpected source.

The story is an easy rambling read, with moments of suspense but mostly of the commonplace details of life in a community where horse and buggy are standard transportation, and courtship is a strictly structured affair. Gossip takes the place of telephones and hymnsings the place of radios. Although not an especially riveting read it is an unusual insider’s view of what it means to be Amish. There is always a sense that the story is building to something, but only in the final two chapters is the angst resolved, this angst of longing for freedom and something more but always returning to the disappointingly tried and true.

Freedom comes after a desperate one-sentence prayer to the God Ira has never addressed without the use of a little black prayer book. An unexpected friendship with someone who has found forgiveness and life in knowing God personally, turns Ira’s life around. Then suddenly with Ira’s discovery of the real key to freedom from the oppressive guilt and obligation that have dogged his life for ten years, the story is over and the reader is left wondering how Ira’s new-found faith in a personal God really played out. How did he find his way in the big wide world outside his Amish heritage? This abrupt two chapter finish after thirty-two chapters of lead-up leaves the book feeling unbalanced and mildly dissatisfying. But its rare glimpse into the world of the little-known Amish makes the read worthwhile, and news is there’s a sequel in the works.

In addition to giving insight into Amish culture, this book offers any parent an opportunity to look at life through a coming-of-age child’s perspective and to consider: how are values best passed on? Ira is quite candid in reflecting on his parents’ virtues and vices and on the values that stuck despite his chafing to be free. So if you’re looking to slow the pace of life for a bit, try Growing Up Amish.  I found my copy at the local public library!

--LS