Joe Mackall has lived surrounded by the Swartzentruber Amish community of Ashland County, Ohio, for over sixteen years. They are the most traditional and insular of all the Amish sects: the Swartzentrubers live without gas, electricity, or indoor plumbing; without lights on their buggies or cushioned chairs in their homes; and without rumspringa, the recently popularized "running-around time" that some Amish sects allow their sixteen-year-olds.Over the years, Mackall has developed ...

New York Times eBook bestseller!One fateful starless night, 17-year-old Ira Wagler got up at 2 AM, left a scribbled note under his pillow, packed all of his earthly belongings into in a little black duffel bag, and walked away from his home in the Amish settlement of Bloomfield, Iowa. Now, in this heartwarming memoir, Ira paints a vivid portrait of Amish life—from his childhood days on the family farm, his Rumspringa rite of passage at age 16, to his ultimate decision to le...

New from #1 Bestselling Author Beverly LewisAmelia "Amy" DeVries, a 24-year-old violinist, is disillusioned with life and love after the collapse of her long-running romance. Weary of endless rehearsals and performances, Amy sets out on a road trip through the Pennsylvania mountains. She leaves her cell phone behind so life's demands can't intrude on her solitude. She doesn't know, nor care, where she will end up.When her car breaks down deep in the mountains, Amy realizes ...

She grew up near Kokomo, Indiana in a small Amish community. At a young age she knew she wanted to go to college because she saw how her dad struggled to make ends met and feeding a family of six on a sixty acre farm wasnt an easy task. Her first obstacle was the fact she knew no English when she started school. This was her fault, her grandmother knew no English, and therefore she felt this wasnt a necessity. She soon realized her mistake and two weeks into the school year she knew how to...

Beena and Sadhana are sisters who share a bond that could only have been shaped by the most unusual of childhoods — and by shared tragedy. Orphaned as teenagers, they have grown up under the exasperated watch of their Sikh uncle, who runs a bagel shop in Montreal's Hasidic community of Mile End. Together, they try to make sense of the rich, confusing brew of values, rituals, and beliefs that form their inheritance. Yet as they grow towards adulthood, their paths begin to diverge. Beena cat...

Yichang municipality, Hubei province, China, early 1970s. High-school student Jingqiu is one of many educated urban youth sent to the countryside to be "re-educated" under a dictate from Chairman Mao. Jing's father is a political prisoner somewhere in China, and her mother, a former teacher branded as a "capitalist," is now reduced to menial work to support Jing and her two younger siblings.When Jing arrives with a group at Xiping village in the Yangtze River's Three Gorges region,...

Marie finds herself unexpectedly pregnant at 39. Meanwhile, her best friend, Elizabeth, has never been able to conceive, despite years of fertility treatments. In a genetic test routinely offered to older mothers, Marie discovers that the child she is carrying has Down syndrome. Intertwined throughout the novel is the story of Margaret, a woman who gave birth to a daughter with Down syndrome in 1947, when such infants were considered to be “unfinished” children. As the novel shifts through...

You know what I see when I check out Christian fiction at my local Christian book store? Row after row of Amish romance novels. This is a parody of them.As Jebebzediah travels away from home for the first time, he catches sight of the lovely, yet oddly misshapen Esmerelda. Before their romance has a chance to blossom, obstacles fall like chickens from heaven. Will their love see them through? Will they walk hand in hand, victorious over the enemies of love or will they stumble over...

**When sweethearts disappear, is it an elopement—or a crime? An Amish mystery by an author who “**sympathetically portrays the members of this religious sect” (Publishers Weekly).Inn owner Rachel Mast is no longer a devout member of the Amish community of Stone Mill, Pennsylvania, but she still cares deeply for them. So she’s staying at her family’s farm to help her mother through an illness—and at the same time, trying to track down two missing people...

Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece of Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige, was raised as a Scientologist but left the controversial religion in 2005. In Beyond Belief, she shares her true story of life inside the upper ranks of the sect, details her experiences as a member Sea Org—the church's highest ministry, speaks of her "disconnection" from family outside of the organization, and tells the story of her ultimate escape.Piercing the veil of secrecy th...

**A gossip is gagged for good in this mystery that combines “**a well-informed look into the tranquil world of the Amish with a fairly edgy puzzler” (Kirkus Reviews).When a newspaperman is murdered in the Amish community of Stone Mill, Pennsylvania, Rachel Mast digs up the dirt to find out who wanted to bury the lead…Although she left her Old Order Amish ways in her youth, Rachel discovered corporate life in the English world to be complic...

The Amish are peaceful, law-abiding people. They do not hold grudges and do not seek vengeance. Their strong belief in God prevents them from fighting or placing a lot of value on money or self-importance. Charity and Adam are a unique young couple. They married first out of duty to their families and then became so much in love that the entire Amish community admired and acknowledged them. Charity is opinionated and outspoken. Unlike the passive Amish women, Charity speaks her mind and stand...