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Becoming Amish: A family's search for faith, community and purpose
Bill and Tricia Moser were living in one of America's wealthiest communities when they stepped away and began a journey that led to a horse-and-buggy Amish life.
No more BMWs. No more architectural or medical careers. Instead, the Mosers drew close with their children, built pallets for money, wore homemade clothes, and bonded with people of their Amish faith and community. Here, in Becoming Amish, they offer a modern couple's honest perspective on that separate and seemingly cloistered world, a perspective that is uniquely insider and outsider at the same time.
The Mosers' journey is rich and fascinating all on its own as we learn about the inner workings of the Amish faith, ways and culture—what their church services are like, how their businesses succeed at such a high rate, how they are so remarkably connected on a human scale (without Facebook!), how they balance technology in their lives, and more.
But though the couple's decision can seem extreme, it can also serve as a mirror that helps us reflect upon our own choices, our own beliefs and values. If we were to be as intentional about our lives, how would we realign our choices big and small to achieve a fulfilling life?
Becoming Amish rounds out the Mosers' tale with interviews, vignettes, and information that adds context, perspective and insight into the Amish community. The reader learns of a startlingly violent book—published in 1660—that is central to this pacifist people’s belief and is in nearly every Amish home. The reader visits a “plain” community in the hills of Kentucky—a community that lives even more simply than most Amish—to discuss “the whys” of a low-technology life and faith. The reader contemplates an interview with the Lutheran minister who helped lead the Supreme Court case back in 1972 that allowed the Amish to pull their children from public school after 8th grade—what compelled him to do that? becomingamish@gmail.com.
No more BMWs. No more architectural or medical careers. Instead, the Mosers drew close with their children, built pallets for money, wore homemade clothes, and bonded with people of their Amish faith and community. Here, in Becoming Amish, they offer a modern couple's honest perspective on that separate and seemingly cloistered world, a perspective that is uniquely insider and outsider at the same time.
The Mosers' journey is rich and fascinating all on its own as we learn about the inner workings of the Amish faith, ways and culture—what their church services are like, how their businesses succeed at such a high rate, how they are so remarkably connected on a human scale (without Facebook!), how they balance technology in their lives, and more.
But though the couple's decision can seem extreme, it can also serve as a mirror that helps us reflect upon our own choices, our own beliefs and values. If we were to be as intentional about our lives, how would we realign our choices big and small to achieve a fulfilling life?
Becoming Amish rounds out the Mosers' tale with interviews, vignettes, and information that adds context, perspective and insight into the Amish community. The reader learns of a startlingly violent book—published in 1660—that is central to this pacifist people’s belief and is in nearly every Amish home. The reader visits a “plain” community in the hills of Kentucky—a community that lives even more simply than most Amish—to discuss “the whys” of a low-technology life and faith. The reader contemplates an interview with the Lutheran minister who helped lead the Supreme Court case back in 1972 that allowed the Amish to pull their children from public school after 8th grade—what compelled him to do that? becomingamish@gmail.com.
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Published June 16, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 27, 2016
I just finished this book and although it's very wordy and not very exciting – I couldn't wait to read it every night before I went to bed. I think we are all searching for the exact same things the Mosers were willing to actually do. I found it to be fascinating how they took action and found the kind of life they were searching for and in the end It made them all very very happy and fulfilled.
I think about simplifying all the time but I don't do it. I think many people are the same as me. So when you read this book you get a certain satisfaction and a certain tranquility thinking about a plain life. I admire them. I'm sure it was a lot of hard work to get there but in the end, it's a great story. I predict this theme in America is going to become more prevalent. Eating farm to table, using renewable sources of energy, the tiny house movement, and many many more examples of our current society realizing that we not only need to make changes to save our health and the planet's health, but also these changes end up saving our mental health.
I think about simplifying all the time but I don't do it. I think many people are the same as me. So when you read this book you get a certain satisfaction and a certain tranquility thinking about a plain life. I admire them. I'm sure it was a lot of hard work to get there but in the end, it's a great story. I predict this theme in America is going to become more prevalent. Eating farm to table, using renewable sources of energy, the tiny house movement, and many many more examples of our current society realizing that we not only need to make changes to save our health and the planet's health, but also these changes end up saving our mental health.
September 24, 2017
I read this in one sitting, so the story was interesting enough. But the writing was poor -- was it even edited? so many weird syntax things, tense changes in the midst of a paragraph -- and the organization was topical instead of chronological, which made for some odd repetition. Although I'm fascinated with the idea of a "regular" family becoming Amish, I didn't connect well with this story. The family stated repeatedly that they took their time and thought through the decision, but it didn't seem like they did. They didn't realize not speaking German would be a problem? They didn't really like using a horse and buggy? I feel sorry for them, really. It seems like they were searching for something, and lacking good Biblical teaching, they went off the deep end. Naturally, it didn't last.
September 16, 2019
I met Trish during classes in the Occupational Therapy program and we worked at the same facility during the 80's. I knew her and Bill during the Indian Village period and when they bought their first house. Through the therapist community I had heard of various moves and changes in religion over the years. It was interesting to read about someone I once knew but had hoped for more of her perspective on becoming Amish than I found in this book. Long ago I had told someone that if she hadn't met Bill and fallen in love that she would have become a nun.
What I did learn from the book was that there is a wide variety among the different Amish communities in how they interpret the principles of their belief system. I was also surprised to learn of the plain Christian communities in Kentucky that are even lower in technology.
What I did learn from the book was that there is a wide variety among the different Amish communities in how they interpret the principles of their belief system. I was also surprised to learn of the plain Christian communities in Kentucky that are even lower in technology.
December 5, 2025
This was quite an interesting book and shared a lot about why people do what they do.
October 28, 2016
I enjoyed Jeff Smith's book because it's one of those stranger than fiction stories that keeps life interesting. Smith recounts the spiritual adventure of a childhood friend who is drawn deeper into the world of religious fundamentalism by his wife. Eventually, the couple decides to shuck their yuppie lifestyles as professionals in suburban Detroit in order to become farmers in an Amish community.
While we sometimes hear of persons from traditional religious backgrounds turning to Buddhism, secular humanism and the like, Smith notes that it's exceedingly rare for anyone to take up the Amish cross - perhaps only 20 families per year throughout the U.S. Hard core religious types give me the creeps because so often, their political leanings seem to be far removed from the example of Jesus Christ (I'm talking to you, Trump supporters). That said, I think it's good to stand in someone else's shoes now and then, even though it may be uncomfortable, and Smith succeeds in presenting the Moser's viewpoint while taking a neutral view on their transformation.
While we sometimes hear of persons from traditional religious backgrounds turning to Buddhism, secular humanism and the like, Smith notes that it's exceedingly rare for anyone to take up the Amish cross - perhaps only 20 families per year throughout the U.S. Hard core religious types give me the creeps because so often, their political leanings seem to be far removed from the example of Jesus Christ (I'm talking to you, Trump supporters). That said, I think it's good to stand in someone else's shoes now and then, even though it may be uncomfortable, and Smith succeeds in presenting the Moser's viewpoint while taking a neutral view on their transformation.
May 9, 2019
Most people see the Amish as odd, weird and just down right mental. I mean, no electricity, outhouses and farming, does not sound like most peoples idea of joy. But for some people, that is what it is. Being Amish is much more about the sense of community, faith and hard work. And while most of us would say that becoming Amish is insane, it sounds more logical to me than some of the things we do in our social circles. While I agree with a lot of their beliefs, several I do not. I felt this book, while quite repetitive, was a decent overview of the lifestyle. A lot of the writing as I said repeats quite a bit, and also it could have catched more of an emotional stance. All in all, a decent read and glimpse into a world most of us will never know or live.
December 11, 2017
This book is interesting in that it's written by a longtime friend of the family, not anyone in the family themselves. The author is non-religious and does his best to stay neutral and just tell the story and does a good job. This would have been better, in my opinion, if they author had dug a little deeper into the spiritual journey of the couple. I mean, HOW do you go from upper middle class, college educated, living in Grosse Point and being basically non-religious to living like an old order Amish family?! This gives part of the answer, but not the full story.
May 20, 2024
I reread Becoming Amish recently and was impressed again by Jeff Smith’s insights, imagery, and generosity towards his subjects. Smith gives an intimate look at an Amish life through the eyes of family friends who leave their “yuppie” lifestyle to raise their six kids in a horse-and-buggy community. If you’re curious about how Amish communities actually function, this is a book for you.
Smith is a journalist, and he bases his writing on dozens of interviews with his friend, Bill Moser, Bill’s wife, Tricia, other family members, and several Amish leaders. The book begins with Bill and Tricia recounting their spiritual metamorphosis -- Tricia’s belief about the need to wear a head covering, Bill experiencing a “divine spark.” Smith and Bill grew up together in suburban Detroit, neither from religious families, and they remained in contact until Bill and Tricia turned to evangelical Christianity. Not religious himself, Smith offers little insight on his friend’s transformation, other than to say that Bill was always open to different cultures. For his part, Bill draws a parallel between the anti-establishment rebellion of his youth and his subsequent Christianity, the latter being an escape from “kingdoms of this world into God’s kingdom.”
Bill explains that during his time in his evangelical congregation, he had been contemplating how to create a life where family, work, and religion were integrated all day, every day. Tricia had started homeschooling the kids, but that only heightened their desire for a simpler lifestyle and a closer faith community. Eventually, the family left their suburban evangelical church when they became dissatisfied with a new pastor, and then left the suburbs for an acreage north of Detroit. Living in rural Michigan with its growing population of Amish, the Mosers came into contact with Amish folk as they built their house and started to farm. The Amish lifestyle seemed to represent everything the Mosers were looking for. When the Mosers met another family of “seekers” -- people who joined Amish communities as adults -- they made the leap.
Bill and Tricia are honest about their struggles with the transition. They were ambivalent about horses, wringer washing machines were exhausting, learning Pennsylvanian German was more or less impossible, and giving up homeschooling was disappointing. (Amish kids attend Amish-run schools through eighth grade.) Yet they were grateful and satisfied to be in a community that shared so many of their values. Bill started, bought, and sold several businesses during his time with the Amish, always with financial and technical support from the community. Tricia appreciated the modest dress. Their social lives were full of visits and work bees. They worked alongside their children
Smith and Bill share many conversations about technology, of course, as Smith tries to understand the logic behind what’s OK and what isn’t in Amish life. For example, why do some Amish prohibit buttons on their clothes but keep a cell phone in their workshop? Bill and others explain how everything from bicycles to outhouses to solar arrays are weighed for their impact on families and the community, and Smith comes to appreciate the intentionality of this practice. Yet with so many decisions come many opportunities for disagreements. Amish communities frequently calve off due to disputes over when and how to permit change. In fact, the book ends with the Mosers’ decision to leave their Amish community after 15 years to join a Mennonite community in another state.
In one of the last chapters in the book, Smith attends the auction where the Mosers’ belongings are sold before their move. He describes driving past “a single file line of eight Amish boys on bicycles, pedaling hard in homemade denim pants, suspenders, wind-billowed shirts and wool caps. I pass a carriage driven by a man and carrying three women, their white caps brilliant inside the black canopy of the buggy.” Smith is a master of detail, and weaves such imagery throughout the book. Here he describes a church service in an unfinished room of an Amish house where the congregation sings hymns, acapella, in High German. “There's silence, a brief pause, and then the tenor from somewhere in the middle of the men leads with another solo line, and the singing begins again. Slow and chantlike, similar to Gregorian chants, but not as soaring, but also not as mournful.”
There is so much beautiful writing in this book, such thoughtful observations about how to live your values, such important insights into human nature. One of my favorite chapters is the interview with an Amish elder who gives counsel to potential seekers: “Again I say count the cost. Then put your whole heart into it. If you have just one foot in the community, it won’t work.” Good advice for us all.
Smith is a journalist, and he bases his writing on dozens of interviews with his friend, Bill Moser, Bill’s wife, Tricia, other family members, and several Amish leaders. The book begins with Bill and Tricia recounting their spiritual metamorphosis -- Tricia’s belief about the need to wear a head covering, Bill experiencing a “divine spark.” Smith and Bill grew up together in suburban Detroit, neither from religious families, and they remained in contact until Bill and Tricia turned to evangelical Christianity. Not religious himself, Smith offers little insight on his friend’s transformation, other than to say that Bill was always open to different cultures. For his part, Bill draws a parallel between the anti-establishment rebellion of his youth and his subsequent Christianity, the latter being an escape from “kingdoms of this world into God’s kingdom.”
Bill explains that during his time in his evangelical congregation, he had been contemplating how to create a life where family, work, and religion were integrated all day, every day. Tricia had started homeschooling the kids, but that only heightened their desire for a simpler lifestyle and a closer faith community. Eventually, the family left their suburban evangelical church when they became dissatisfied with a new pastor, and then left the suburbs for an acreage north of Detroit. Living in rural Michigan with its growing population of Amish, the Mosers came into contact with Amish folk as they built their house and started to farm. The Amish lifestyle seemed to represent everything the Mosers were looking for. When the Mosers met another family of “seekers” -- people who joined Amish communities as adults -- they made the leap.
Bill and Tricia are honest about their struggles with the transition. They were ambivalent about horses, wringer washing machines were exhausting, learning Pennsylvanian German was more or less impossible, and giving up homeschooling was disappointing. (Amish kids attend Amish-run schools through eighth grade.) Yet they were grateful and satisfied to be in a community that shared so many of their values. Bill started, bought, and sold several businesses during his time with the Amish, always with financial and technical support from the community. Tricia appreciated the modest dress. Their social lives were full of visits and work bees. They worked alongside their children
Smith and Bill share many conversations about technology, of course, as Smith tries to understand the logic behind what’s OK and what isn’t in Amish life. For example, why do some Amish prohibit buttons on their clothes but keep a cell phone in their workshop? Bill and others explain how everything from bicycles to outhouses to solar arrays are weighed for their impact on families and the community, and Smith comes to appreciate the intentionality of this practice. Yet with so many decisions come many opportunities for disagreements. Amish communities frequently calve off due to disputes over when and how to permit change. In fact, the book ends with the Mosers’ decision to leave their Amish community after 15 years to join a Mennonite community in another state.
In one of the last chapters in the book, Smith attends the auction where the Mosers’ belongings are sold before their move. He describes driving past “a single file line of eight Amish boys on bicycles, pedaling hard in homemade denim pants, suspenders, wind-billowed shirts and wool caps. I pass a carriage driven by a man and carrying three women, their white caps brilliant inside the black canopy of the buggy.” Smith is a master of detail, and weaves such imagery throughout the book. Here he describes a church service in an unfinished room of an Amish house where the congregation sings hymns, acapella, in High German. “There's silence, a brief pause, and then the tenor from somewhere in the middle of the men leads with another solo line, and the singing begins again. Slow and chantlike, similar to Gregorian chants, but not as soaring, but also not as mournful.”
There is so much beautiful writing in this book, such thoughtful observations about how to live your values, such important insights into human nature. One of my favorite chapters is the interview with an Amish elder who gives counsel to potential seekers: “Again I say count the cost. Then put your whole heart into it. If you have just one foot in the community, it won’t work.” Good advice for us all.
December 16, 2020
I really appreciated the way Smith set the tone in the beginning, outlining his reason for writing this book and how he hoped it’d be interrupted. It stuck with me throughout. I liked that this book was both a narrative but also biography; however, I’ll admit I haven’t read a biography before so maybe that’s how they always are?
I had many moments where I set this book down just to think with myself for a few minutes. This book made me think and rethink so many aspects of my life. My faith, my devotion to my faith, what I consider community, how I work the concept of community into my everyday life and how the way I live my life reflects (or doesn’t reflect) my faith. How I see myself in the scale of “in the world but not of the world”.
This book really encouraged me to want to grow and seek.. fulfillment? in the way the Mosers did. Perhaps not in the same direction but with the same magnitude.
Something that stuck with me was in the beginning of the book where Smith said that the Amish are “true Americans”, as in, they fully take advantage (in the good way) of freedom, living their lives the way they want, and with true religious freedom.
I loved this book.
I had many moments where I set this book down just to think with myself for a few minutes. This book made me think and rethink so many aspects of my life. My faith, my devotion to my faith, what I consider community, how I work the concept of community into my everyday life and how the way I live my life reflects (or doesn’t reflect) my faith. How I see myself in the scale of “in the world but not of the world”.
This book really encouraged me to want to grow and seek.. fulfillment? in the way the Mosers did. Perhaps not in the same direction but with the same magnitude.
Something that stuck with me was in the beginning of the book where Smith said that the Amish are “true Americans”, as in, they fully take advantage (in the good way) of freedom, living their lives the way they want, and with true religious freedom.
I loved this book.
June 19, 2018
I’ve always been a little fascinating with the Amish. The book was not extremely interesting, but it was about a family in Michigan and I was familiar with many of the towns talked about. I appreciated the author’s attempt to share the family’s thought process behind this transformation from a non-biased viewpoint. The author was friends with the couple during college, which gave him the ability to speak about their pre-Amish lives.
I especially found the chapters on technology interested. The principles they use to decide whether or not to allow a specific type of technology can be helpful to the rest of us.
I am not claiming to be an expert writer by any means, but I’m not sure this book was edited. The writing was poor and errors were many.
I especially found the chapters on technology interested. The principles they use to decide whether or not to allow a specific type of technology can be helpful to the rest of us.
I am not claiming to be an expert writer by any means, but I’m not sure this book was edited. The writing was poor and errors were many.
June 21, 2021
The author has written this book about his friends who left modern society to become part of an Amish community for a number of years. It didn't start as something the family was doing, but after searching for a faith community that reflected their growing beliefs, that is where they ended up living. It wasn't all positive or easy, and this book is openly honest about that. I have read a good deal about the Amish communities in our country, so much of it wasn't a big surprise to me, but I did appreciate a different perspective. This book is an interesting read for anyone who has an interest in the Amish culture/religion or who would like to read of a family on a spiritual journey that led to many changes in their lives.
August 14, 2020
This book was okay, but parts of it were quite repetitive--it could have been condensed. Also, it focuses mainly on the family's faith and the religious reasons for their transition--which I understand, as the Amish live the way they do because of their faith, but did not make for very interesting reading. Perhaps if you are a "seeker" it would be more interesting. I am fascinated by the way the Amish live, but more from a cultural and practical standpoint, so I was hoping to read more about the practicalities of their transition, but aside from describing some incidents with the horses and a discussion on the washing machine, they didn't go into it much.
October 21, 2021
One of my longest & best friends in life is the author, Jeff Smith. I wouldn’t ordinarily have interest in becoming Amish, so honestly I read this book because he wrote it. This book explores the real life transition of Jeff’s childhood friend, Bill Moser and his family from being Catholic to living the simple life of the Amish. Jeff approaches this subject with empathy and neutral open mindedness. This book is an enlightening eye opener into the Amish &Mennonite theology & culture. For those in search of ways to live a life closer to God, this book describes a path you might explore. Well written, interesting & enjoyable read, even if you are an atheist, or agnostic.
April 6, 2022
Over the years, I have come in contact with many Amish people. In reading this book, I learned more about the "background" of the life of the Amish and why there chose this style of living. The book takes you beyond what we see of them. The people who dress differently than we do. The people who do not use electric, etc. and etc. I what I learned the most is about their strong faith in God, and how they try to honor God in their daily lives. I learned about their very close-knit families and also about their communities. Although, I don't agree with everything the Amish do, I do have a better understanding of them,
May 4, 2024
It was interesting overall, recounting different aspects of Amish life with multiple people interviewed throughout the book. It kind of dragged on several of the points, and a lot was told anecdotally by the journalist’s perspective. I wish more of it had been about what day-to-day life was like for the family and how they practically got to that point, but that’s probably mostly just personal preference. I’ve been very interested lately in the many different ways people interpret Christian scripture, so this was intriguing to me in that way but fell flat for me aside from that
October 20, 2021
I wish
Very good understanding on how and what it takes to become Amish. The ups and downs on trying to figure out where you belong in life. I envy the Amish and wish for the simple life and and to have family and friends that close. And most of all there beliefs and closeness to God.
Very good understanding on how and what it takes to become Amish. The ups and downs on trying to figure out where you belong in life. I envy the Amish and wish for the simple life and and to have family and friends that close. And most of all there beliefs and closeness to God.
December 13, 2023
an honest look at the Amish life and why
This book was very informative. It gave an honest look at the Amish life and why they chose to live as they do. The drive for community is so strong and not to be of the world. I wondered how they would handle a medically fragile person or someone having cancer. I am glad I read it.
This book was very informative. It gave an honest look at the Amish life and why they chose to live as they do. The drive for community is so strong and not to be of the world. I wondered how they would handle a medically fragile person or someone having cancer. I am glad I read it.
January 12, 2018
Four stars because the content was quite interesting to me personally. I learned a lot about Amish values and history. Interesting to consider how society could be different if we had even half the community values the Amish do. Organization of the book could have been better.
July 16, 2019
Interesting introduction to the Amish lifestyle. But, it also led to more questions about the Amish & Mennonite congregations. The book made me think about how confusing the Amish lifestyle is to general society due to the fact that each congregation has its own rules.
August 11, 2020
These people are pioneers and more people should strive for the sense of community the Amish have if nothing else.. however, until America becomes a socialist nation (never), the nation will never be as united as some of the individuals in it.
April 7, 2022
Not what I thought
This book is not about becoming Amish, they try, but don’t end up becoming Amish, in the end they become Mennonite though not for lack of trying. It took me a while to finish and it was okay, I liked it, but not great.
This book is not about becoming Amish, they try, but don’t end up becoming Amish, in the end they become Mennonite though not for lack of trying. It took me a while to finish and it was okay, I liked it, but not great.
April 27, 2022
Not what I expected
I thought the bookwouldbeaboutafamybecomi.gAlaxy.ish,,
I thought the book would be about a family becoming Amish and the trials and tribulations. Instead it was more about their journey to find what they considered the best faith.
I thought the bookwouldbeaboutafamybecomi.gAlaxy.ish,,
I thought the book would be about a family becoming Amish and the trials and tribulations. Instead it was more about their journey to find what they considered the best faith.
June 2, 2022
I saw this book advertised on soical media and though it sounded interesting. I did enjoy the book and learning a bit more about the lifestyle. I wonder how the Mosers are doing today in their community?
May 12, 2017
Very interesting look at this religion and culture through the eyes of a reporter whose lifelong friend became Amish.
October 23, 2017
Marginal, including the fact that they left a few years after "becoming Amish".
August 13, 2018
Actually mentioned some relatives of our new neighbors, and their old community in Manton. I learned a lot.
December 27, 2020
Becoming Amish
Although we have Amish friends, who willingly answer our questions, this book helped clarify some of our questions. A quick, informative read.
Although we have Amish friends, who willingly answer our questions, this book helped clarify some of our questions. A quick, informative read.
January 1, 2021
Interesting, although somehow not what I expected. It did take some of the mysticism out of the Amish culture.
January 7, 2021
informative.
July 18, 2022
Not what I expected. I thought it would tell more about day to day life and learning to be Amish. It was more directed towards religious beliefs. Interesting but I was disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews