Growing Up Amish: The Teenage Years

by Richard A. Stevick

Nearly 90 percent of those who grow up Amish choose the Amish a lifetime commitment to the faith and a traditional way of life. To outsiders immersed in the daily realities and luxuries of the modern world, this statistic may seem unbelievable. In this in-depth study of Amish adolescence, Richard A. Stevick offers a balanced, comprehensive, and engaging account of the social forces and rituals—including Rumspringa —that contribute to this statistic. In Growing Up Amish , Stevick reveals the world of Amish youth caught between the expectations of their traditional community and the growing pressures and temptations that accompany adolescence. Drawing from a dozen years of research in more than seventy communities in fifteen states, he carefully details home life and school, social singings and wild parties, isolated settlements and Amish youth gangs, and courtship practices and wedding rituals. Stevick shows how the strong and distinct Amish identity is fostered by the entire community—parents, ministers, teachers, and neighbors. With positive reinforcement and constant modeling of Amish behavior and values, this strong identity keeps most youth from feeling at ease in and identifying with the outside world. This definitive work provides new and important insight into what life is really like for the adolescents, their families, and their communities during the "running around" years and how these fascinating rituals have, in fact, helped the Amish preserve their unique culture.

Genres: Nonfiction, Amish

320 pages, Hardcover

First published April 2, 2007

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you come into frequent contact with the Amish, you soon have a lot of questions. Since your contacts are mostly casual, you hesitate to ask questions of the Amish themselves. Richard Stevick has gained the trust of Amish people living in 70 communities in the United States and has found some answers. One of mine has always been, "How can the Amish resist the pressures of modern life?' As Stevick shows, they don't always succeed. They lose some of their young people to the "English" world, yet it was surprising to learn that the stricter sects--if you can call them that--retain their young people better than those who allow their young more latitude during their teenage years. I am looking forward to reading Stevick's companion volume, GROWING UP AMISH: THE RUMSPRINGA YEARS. "Rumspringa" is a five-year period of "running around" which begins at age 16 and ends when the young person joins the church.

[Allison Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about living the lifestyle from birth to the teenage years. Growing up Amish isn't as easy as it looks, they have rules that they live by and they grow up being told what to do their whole life. The Amish learn to speak in different languages but they mainly speak German. They are not allowed to wear certain clothes,the women have to wear dresses and bonnets and the men and boys have to wear dress pants, a button down shirt and a hat, the men also have to have a beard and can't shave. Many people in the united states are Amish. They live in secluded areas where not many people live, they mostly live in Ohio and New York. I think that the Amish are neat to learn about because there are so many things to know about the Amish community. Being Amish is harder than it looks, I don't think that I could go basically my whole life until the age of 18 or older. I also think that Amish communities and families are very large because the women start having kids at the age of 16 or older, the communities are mostly large and most of their neighbors are relatives or friends of the Amish communities. Most people say that being Amish is a tough life but I think that it gives you responsibilities for when your parents are no longer around to be there and do things for you your whole life, when in the Amish your required to learn and do things on your own. The different things the Amish do are that they can most of their food, all their food is home grown, they speak many languages, they go to school until 5th grade, there are many more things that the Amish do differently then most of us. This doesn't mean that they aren't people because they are Americans but they just have a different belief than us people. Also the Amish are known for their cooking because it is popular in a town called Arthur, Illinois which is about and hour or two away. Most people stare when they see the Amish people but in their community staring is not allowed because it is against their belief but it is unknown why. Also you may see people leave the Amish which causes them to be shunned which means that they are no longer allowed to be in the Amish community because of the leader of the Amish church. Also it is harder to become friends with an Amish person because they consider you as an English person because your in English clothes, I know how to become friends with an Amish person because I have known this Amish family for a couple of years and they begin to earn your trust and then your allowed to talk to them, with the shows you see about the Amish not all of it is true because you are allowed to talk to the Amish community as long as the bishop knows that your coming to talk to a certain family. It's not easy gaining the trust of an Amish family because they don't really know who you are and once they get to know you they get used to the fact of you coming around. In my opinion Amish people are actually really nice and they do show you respect but that is just the way they are raised.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Amish are pretty interesting. I had seen "Devil's Playground", which is a documentary about Amish Youth Gone Bad (dealing coke, boozing it up, buying expensive stereos, etc.), which totally sensationalizes a certain aspect of Amish culture (although it was still fascinating to see girls in bonnets and aprons getting wasted). This book, however, is a very even-handed and careful explanation of what it's like to be Amish. You also get a little bit of their religious history, and an explanation of the differences between the many different Amish denominations.

The "courting" chapter is predictably the best, especially when you get to the part about "bed courtship", where the young man gets to sleep over at his girlfriend's house but they don't have sex and he has to leave before her parents get up...and how the not-having-sex part used to be facilitated by placing a rough wood plank in between the two.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Growing Up Amish: The Teenage Years (Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies) The book gave a lot of good information; however, I felt like I didn't get the 'detailed' information that would clear up misconceptions that I probably have regarding the Amish. The whole concept of their 'running around years' wasn't explained that clearly. I thought I'd read somewhere that the teenagers would live outside of their homes/communities and really get wild. This didn't really expand on this.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up out of curiosity for the Amish lifestyle, vaguely as research. I expected a dry, academic read, and well, I wasn't disappointed. However, the author's tone is that of an interested bystander presenting fascinating anecdotes and examples of a day in the life. Most points are well-supported, although there's a tendency to emphasize extreme examples. The biggest thing I took from this book is the fact that, just like any other society, the life of the Amish as a whole is varied and non-definitive. A good source of insight into an American culture off the mainstream.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book about Amish youth. Surprised to read about drug/alcohol usage (how do they get the money?). Very candid look at young people.