Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler

Born on a hot August day, Ira Wagler was raised in the Old Order Amish community of Aylmer, Ontario. Growing up in the Amish way suited Ira only until he became a young man. After watching most of his older siblings leave the Amish way of life, Ira followed suit at age seventeen. Over the course of the next nine years, Ira would repeatedly return to the Amish and then leave again. At twenty-six, he left Amish permanently. In this memoir Ira candidly shares the myriad of experiences that his life journey consisted of.

Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler peals away common stereotypes and misconceptions about the Amish people and reveals one man's journey in and out of the Amish world. In the Christian fiction realm, the Amish way of life is often idealized. Reading Growing Up Amish was like seeing a side of Amish culture that I had not been exposed to before. I thought the book started off a little slow. However, by the time the author began talking about his teenage years and Rumspringa, I was hooked. I live in one of the non-Amish areas that the author talks about visiting, so it was interesting to see his observations and experiences in my own area. Christians who are fans of biographies will probably enjoy this book.

Click here to read an excerpt from Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”