My Amish Childhood

Title: MY AMISH CHILDHOOD

Author: Jerry Eicher

Publisher: Harvest House

February 2013

ISBN: 978-0736950060

Genre: Autobiography/Memoir

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.

Okay, let me preface this by saying I’m not a fan of memoirs. I try to avoid them. But this one sounded like one I might be interested in, kind of like Ira Wagler’s, maybe.

No. Not at all.

This book is set in Honduras, and it very much reminds me of Dale Kramer’s Amish books set in Mexico—a failed Amish community there. Except this one is real, and Dale’s is loosely based on a true story.  I can’t say that I really enjoyed it. It is a memoir… and it is a collection of Mr. Eicher’s stories about his childhood, but one doesn’t really learn anything about the Amish culture or about their beliefs.

Still, if you’re a fan of Mr. Eicher’s books or interested in his life, or maybe interested in Honduras, or just really love memoirs, then you might enjoy reading MY AMISH CHILDHOOD.

Available in paperback  and kindle. 256 pages.