Summary
Title: Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life
Author: Ruth Irene Garrett, Rick Farrant
Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco
ISBN: 006052992X
Pro:
• Very personal insight into the lives of Old Order Amish
• Engaging, fast-paced story
Con:
• More about the Amish generally would have been helpful
• No index
Description:
• Tale of an Amish girl who falls in love with an outsider and leaves her community
• Explains the contradictions and problems she saw in Amish life
• Argues that there are serious problems among the Amish which few see
Book Review
It seems likely that if the Amish were to suddenly appear and start recruiting new members, they would quickly be labeled a “cult” and disparaged far and wide — there would be no movies with positive depictions of their “quaint” lifestyle and habits. No one would visit them to buy quilts. Because they have been around so long, though, and because they don’t proselytize, everyone is willing to overlook what goes on.
Perhaps that is appropriate — but at the same time, people should be made aware of just what it is they are willing to overlook. A good start would be Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life, by Ruth Irene Garrett and Rick Farrant. Born Ruth Irene Miller, Garrett grew up in an Old Order Amish family in Kalona, Iowa. Then the unthinkable happened: she fell in love, ran off with an outsider and married him.
Ottie Garrett was a divorced man much older than Irene who worked for the Amish by driving them around or between Amish communities (they are forbidden from owning cars, but not from paying to be driven by others — and more than a few have secret telephones hidden in barns or elsewhere on their properties). It seems likely that any family would have had serious reservations about this match — and certainly with the idea of Irene running off with him. For the Amish, though, it was unforgivable.
This book is only partially about the beliefs and lives of Old Order Amish. There is an introduction to the history of the Amish and throughout the book there are short descriptions of what the Amish believe. Primarily, though, this is the story of Garrett’s life.
She was born Amish, but it appears that her heart was always a bit freer and more curious about the world than those around her — or perhaps not, and perhaps others learned to still such thoughts out of fear of eternal damnation.
Although there is plenty of criticism of Amish beliefs and attitudes in this book (well-deserved criticisms, I might add), this is not designed as an attack on them. Instead, it’s designed to help Christians and non-Christians better understand what it’s like for the Amish and what they believe.
It should also serve as a cautionary tale for Christians because the Amish are undeniably a part of the Christian tradition, but they have also managed to twist basic aspects of Christianity far more than other conservative denominations or sects have. As Garrett tells it, there is a great deal of fear and intimidation among the Amish. This is true in any small, tightly-knit community, but it’s exacerbated by the religious dimensions of the group because the Amish don’t believe that anyone outside their sect will go to heaven.
- “[W]e were taught that we were the privileged ones, chosen by God to do his work and the only ones who stood a chance of being saved. We therefore were forbidden from doing missionary work outside the community.”
Isn’t it curious that missionary work is forbidden when the Bible instructs Christians to preach and minister to others? It’s for good reason that the Amish are discouraged from learning too much and even from reading the Bible too much:
- “I know of at least two bishops who were excommunicated — “put out,” “put in the ban,” or “shunned” — because leaders felt they were reading the Bible too much and not focusing on teaching the Amish way.”
This isn’t the only example of how Amish life and beliefs contradict traditional Christian teachings. The point of the story, though, is how Garrett came to understand these contradictions, find love outside the Amish community, and then how she and her husband struggled in the aftermath of their marriage. She certainly hasn’t had an easy life, but she tells her story well and readers are quickly drawn into her tale because rather than being negative and disparaging, she always manages to maintain a hopeful, optimistic, and life-affirming perspective.
I wonder how she’s doing now?
