I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harvest House Publishers, Jerry S. Eicher and was under no obligation to post a review. No compensation was received for sharing this review and all opinions are my own.

My Amish Childhood by Jerry S. Eicher
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Published by Harvest House Publishers on February 1st 2013
Source: Harvest House Publishers, Jerry S. Eicher
Genres: Religion, Christianity, Amish, Biography & Autobiography, General, Literary, Literary Criticism, American
Pages: 256

Bestselling fiction author Jerry S. Eicher (nearly half a million books sold) turns his pen to a moving memoir of his life growing up Amish.
Jerry's mother was nineteen years old and nine months married when he was born. She had received Grandfather Stoll's permission for the wedding because she agreed to help out on the farm the following year. However, with Jerry on the way, those plans failed.

Jerry recounts his first two years of school in the Amish community of Aylmer, Ontario and his parents' decision to move to Honduras. Life in that beautiful Central American country is seen through an Amish boy's eyes-and then the dark days when the community failed and the family returned to America, much to young Jerry's regret. Jerry also tells of his struggle as a stutterer and his eventual conversion to Christ and the reasons for his departure from the childhood faith he knew.
Here is a must-read for not just Jerry's fiction fans, but also for readers curious about Amish life.

This book was so pleasantly surprising for me…WOW! I’m honestly shocked because this is the first time I have ever made it through an autobiography! Not only did I make it through but I enjoyed it! This was also the first book that I have read by the author.

My mother has been bugging me for quite some time to pick up his books and I had been meaning to but I will admit that I was scared. It seems that male authors sometimes leave me feeling as if something is missing that connects with me as a woman. Not all male authors mind you—but it was still enough to scare me for a short time.

I should have put away my fears because I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was humorous at times, brutally honest and also touching. I’m giving 5 stars to this book and wish I could give an additional star for being the first autobiography that was written in a way that appealed to me.

About the story

This book is an autobiography of Amish writer, Jerry Eicher whom, as we find out in the book—grew up Amish! He was honest about his awkwardness and even about his mischievousness as a child which I found to be refreshing as I often think of Amish children having the idyllic life we read about in Amish fiction. In the grand scheme of things—Jerry had quite a bit of issues to overcome; an issue with stuttering and bouts of depression.

We also got an inside view of a new Amish community in a third world country and the struggles that they faced. I was really rooting for the community to succeed and was a little disappointed to find out that it had failed. It was on that note that the autobiography was wrapped up. I would really like to see how things unfold in the later years. I am assuming that he eventually left the Amish faith—I want to know these things! I guess I’m greedy and want more information as I really found the author’s life to be very intriguing. This book definitely gets two thumbs up for me for both wit and for the insightful spirituality. I have to say that Eicher’s account of his salvation is possibly one of the sweetest, honest and simplistic explanations that I have ever heard—and it was touching. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

 

 

Posted By: Kristin Filed Under: Jerry S. Eicher Tagged With: American, Amish, Biography & Autobiography, Book Reviews, Christianity, General, Literary, Literary Criticism, Religion