Sunday, June 20, 2010

Amish Grace

I'm back after a long silence. Maintaining momentum has been a challenge for me on this blog, but I have so many great books to write about, I hope they will keep me going for a while! I'm trying to read at least 50 books in 2010 and with a little more than a week left until the half-way point, I'm up to 22 books. I think I'm on the right track!

On to today's book. I finished Amish Grace a few months ago, and it was fantastic. I remember hearing about the Amish school shooting several years ago. Although school shootings are always tragic and terribly unnerving, this one was particularly disturbing. I thought, of all places, a placid one-room school house in Amish Country would be immune to such horror. But the communities response to the tragedy was even more remarkable. I remember hearing about how members of the community reached out to the shooter's wife and even attended his funeral. I was amazed. I remember wanting to know more about their beliefs and their views on forgiveness, but never really took the time. That is, until I came across this book years later.

I was immediately attracted to its tranquil, idyllic cover, and excited to dive right into its contents. The authors provided a lot of background into the customs and history of the Amish people, which was really helpful to understanding their reaction to the shooting. They explained that forgiveness, while not easy, was an expected reaction to any kind of wrongdoing and was rooted in what they believe Jesus taught in the Bible. The authors also addressed many of the criticisms and questions they Amish were faced with in response to their acts of forgiveness.

I highly recommend this informative and beautifully crafted book. It provides a glimpse into another culture during its most challenging time.


3 comments:

Katie said...

Yay for blogging! :)

Congrats on being half way to your reading goal! My goal was 50 books and I'm at 10. Oops. At least I'm reading more than I have been, which was the general goal.

Michelle | When I Grow Up Coach said...

SO happy seeing a new post here, Caitlin!

And if I wasn't almost done with reading Wally Lamb's "new" book, partly (& graphically) about Columbine, I'd put this up next. I think I'll need to wait a while for it, though...

Will keep my eyes open for your other recs!

Caitlin said...

McB-Don't give up on 50! You could still do it!

Michelle- Thanks so much for the encouragement! I'm so grateful for all of your help! And delighted that you're reading the blog!