Leaving My Amish World: My True Story

by Eirene Eicher

Pregnant.Shunned.Heartbroken.This is Eirene's true story of how she left the Amish. Like most Amish children, Eirene had a carefree childhood in a tight-knit family life in the Old Order Amish community where she grew up Indiana. Though she had no indoor plumbing, no electricity, and no modern conveniences, her young life was full of joy. Horseback riding, reading, working with her father, and singing while making noodles and quilts with her sisters filled her days as she grew up. When Eirene becomes pregnant and marries at the tender age of 17, the harsh reality of her new life sets in. From getting snowed in by 10 feet of snow to carrying icy buckets of water inside just to make coffee or wash dishes, Eirene remains steadfast in providing the best care she can for her son. As she has four more children, her world revolves around them, and they bring her more joy than she could have ever imagined.Though she loves being a mother, and she loves her family, Eirene knows there has to be more to life than just being a housewife confined to her home with no money, no phone, and no transportation. Doesn't God have a bigger purpose for her? Wasn't she meant for more? When Eirene makes a Christian friend, she is hungry to learn more about the loving God who died for her and rose again, a God so unlike the one she'd learned about growing up Amish. Eirene knows God is calling her to leave so she can serve God. But is she willing to leave her family, her community, and everything she's ever known behind? Eirene prays that her story will be in encouragement to a struggling young mother out there wondering if life will ever change or get better.Please follow Eirene on Amazon to be notified of her new releases in the future.* "This book was so enthralling, I stayed up late into the night to find out what would happen next. Never before has a book taken me through such a roller coaster ride of emotions: suspense, anguish, sorrow, indignation, and joy. This woman's story touched my heart, and when she was hurt in the story, it was written so beautifully that I could feel her pain. Her story was so incredible, how she could still have such unwavering faith after everything that happened to her. So many things in this story were absolutely shocking and absolutely heart-wrenching, but there were also so many joyful parts that spoke of the cheerful memories of the author's childhood, and the close-knit Amish community. I am a true admirer of the Amish, but all Amish communities are different. We sometimes put the Amish on a pedestal, but they are human too, and also make mistakes just like us. This story was heartbreaking and raw, but most of all, it truly was inspirational. Once you start, you won't be able to put it down." -Ashley Emma, bestselling author of Undercover Amish, Amish Under Fire, and more

Genres: Amish, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Memoir

94 pages, Paperback

Published June 27, 2019

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about book

I liked this story at first but it came to a climax and ending too soon. Yes, she left the Amish church but it was more of being forced out because of her husband's action. Rather than make the decision and leaving. She wanted to leave but I wonder if she would have made the decision of not forced.

[Lucinda Coblentz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and Hopeful

Eirene's story is one that so many Amish women will relate to. It is a must read. Be prepared to start it and not put it down until you read the last page. I felt I was there with her. Her courage is astounding. Leaving everything she knew and being shunned by everyone, including her own family. Being judged and gossiped about. Treated like she was poison but not being tempted to go back because the peace and freedom is worth all the pain of the rejection.

[Jolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read a nonfiction book called Leaving my Amish World: My True Story by Eirene Eicher. This book was a bit surprising to me because it described a true story of an Amish woman who lived in an abusive, alcoholic family with her husband and children. Her Old Order Amish ordnung permitted alcohol drinking and her husband was an alcoholic. She describes what life was like getting pregnant and having to marry at a young age.
Having no indoor plumbing, no electricity, no phone and no modern conveniences, she took care of her children alone. Occasionally having contact with her family, who she loved dearly, she started to question her Amish faith. This book will not be for everyone, but I found the story intriguing and interesting.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful story of learning to trust God completely!

Eirene has been through a deep valley of a type that most of us will never know. She has shared her life very openly so that we might see that no matter the circumstances of our lives God loves us. The way that she has had to rely on God is over and above what most of us will ever have to do. She has opened my eyes to parts of the Amish faith that I never knew although as she explains every sect is different. This story encourages us to dig into God's word and to learn to trust Him with everything in our life. I am so thankful that the author has been able to move above the circumstances of her life and marriage and find the true saving grace of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May God bless her as in her life she has become what He wanted her to be.
I received a free download of this book from the publisher and I would like to thank them for letting me see into the life of the Amish in a new way. I will look forward to reading the next book in the series. This review is totally my own opinion.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Amish world

I found this book to be incredibly repetitive throughout, so much so I couldn't finish it.

The story was interesting in itself but the same thing was repeated over and over.
Boring as can be.

[Bre Rottenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartfelt

I lived as an Englisher in an Amish community in Indiana. Was very close friends with many Amish and saw first hand the damage of the beliefs.
I also saw the damage that shunning does to them. This book is heartfelt and well written.

[Virginia Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admired Eirene for her strong faith, courage, love and hope for a better future. The difficult journey made for a captivating and intriguing read. The writing style itself was simple (nothing glamorous or flowery) and slightly repetitive but I felt that it was told in a story-telling like tone. This was not only an inspirational story of one woman's decision to surrender all to Jesus and follow Him no matter the cost, but also an interesting glimpse in the day-to-day life in the Amish world. A simpler, slower way of life where hard work and family are key. Yet, reading how the culture approves of excessive drinking, and sex before marriage but frowns upon a woman having a driver's permit seemed very hypocritical and just plain wrong.

[Norma Wiegert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating account of life in an Amish community and the hardships Eirene endured. She grew up in a large family and married at a very young age. She endured a loveless marriage, and an alcoholic husband while raising her 5 boys. This book follows her journey to leave the Amish community and accept Christianity. This is a powerful book and I'm looking forward to her next book. Very informative.

[Penny Leidecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a real surprise to me. Eirene Eicher gives us a heart wrenching account of her wonderful childhood and then her pregnancy and marriage at seventeen. I think everyone should read this fast read to see that the Amish are human and make mistakes just like everyone else. No one is perfect. I won’t leave any spoilers, but I will say, I learned some things reading this story.

[Wanda Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true story about how having Faith in God can change a person's life for the better.

I got a different point of view after reading Eirene's book about her and her family's life as being and how her faith in God changed their lives for the better. I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Martha L. Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this true story

I can certainly relate to the heartache of leaving one way to follow
more closely to the life that Jesus speaks about in His Word. I will be watching for Eirene Eicher’s sequels to her story, as I’m very interested in how her relationship with Jesus continues to grow as she continues in His Word and in prayer.

[Kim Hardie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but intense writing

This is a short but very intense book on Eirene Eicher's early life and early marriage. She has a way of drawing you in, not wanting to put the story down until it's finished.
It's so very interesting to see and feel life, especially Amish life, from a first hand perspective. I'm happy I purchased this e-book.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very interesting!

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eirene grew up Amish . She got pregnant at 17 and had to marry the father of her unborn child. By the time she was in her early 20s she had 5 young boys to take care of. While her husband went to work doing construction, Eirene did what was expected as an Amish wife which was to obey her husband, take care of her children, take care of the house, cook, clean, canning, gardening, etc.

Alcoholism is ramped in the Amish community including her husband who was an abusive drunk towards Eirene. Eirene needed a change and wanted to learn more about the Lord. She befriended her neighbors and a woman named Sharon. She learned that the Amish teachings from their German Bible wasn’t correct but their own interpretation. She learned to rely on the Lord to guide her. When her husband bought a van, drove drunk without a license and got arrested, her , her husband and kids were excommunicated by the Amish. When someone gets shunned by their Amish community, the person can’t have any contact with anyone Amish including family. After the arrest he was forced to attend alcohol counseling. They ended up moving into a small one bedroom apartment. Soon they are part of the English community.

This was a short true story of a young woman who was forced to become an Amish wife and mother at a young age. She was seeking the truth about the Lord and became closer to Him and relying on Him. She stuck with her marriage even through the alcoholism and abuse. She was brave enough to make a change in her life and leave the Amish community. She became more than a mother and wife. There’s nothing wrong with being a mother and wife but I could understand how Eirene felt. She wanted more in life and she got it with her faith and help from the Lord

[Carmen Redding · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only exposure to the Amish life has been through literature. The novels I have read have tended to romanticize the Amish way of life. I often wondered what it would be like to live a life where every aspect of your life is subject to the scrutiny of a higher authority, and the slightest infraction could result in being shunned by the people who are supposed to love you.

Christianity, practiced according to the Gospels, is by nature, loving, inclusive and forgiving. Grace is the foundation of our relationship with God and one another. There’s no room for legalism in the Gospel Jesus preached, and yet so many denominations focus on perfection and rule-keeping as the way to heaven.

In this book Eirene discovers the disconnect between what the Ordnung demands and what Jesus promised. As an Amish woman in a loveless marriage and bound by the restrictions imposed by her church and her husband, she craved the kind of love the Jesus offers: a free gift of God, a gift not earned, but freely given.

This book describes Eirene’s total dependency on God to free her, provide for her and strengthen her and her family as they find themselves thrust into a non-Amish world. Eirene’s story is a real eye-opener. It separates the reality of the Amish world from the fictional view to which we have been exposed. A good read.

[Anna Catherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eirene's story is an interesting look into Amish culture (albeit through a narrowly-tailored account of one woman's experience in one particular sect), and an inspiring testimony. This book isn't particularly well written, and it is quite short, but it's so brief that it's hard to complain. It's just fine. If it intrigues you, I'd recommend just picking it up because it's so short - not necessarily because of how good it is. There's few books out there like it, and this one is worth the brief amount of time it takes to read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Eirene’s story of leaving the Amish but it ended abruptly and if her other books are anything like this one they should have been condensed into one book.

There was a lot of the pieces to the puzzle missing from this book. For example, she jumps to when she was pregnant and getting married but there was no mention of her courtship or why she chose to date Mark or who they were as a couple before they had a shotgun wedding. Many important details were just overlooked.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

[Patricia Duvall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read

I love all things Amish. I have devoured all Amish books I've ever read. This title jumped out at me as I was looking at my favorite author's newest book and just had to buy this book. The writer pulled me in from the first word, as a child of God I rejoice for a new name written down in the book of life. I pray this book and any others that come after are a blessing to all who read them.

[Jean Smylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took us through Eirenni's terrors, beside her. I fell in love with her sons as they arrived but grieved for the downward tunnel she existed in. I feel it's an honest description of what other authors have romanticised in the legion of Amish books published
She is courageous and so open to her Saviours power and love that it's heart warming
I pray her book will be life and encouragement to others similarly trapped

[Marta Aldrighetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the biography of the author.
She is born in an amish big family, in Indiana.
She has 13 siblings,big family, always busy.
She had wedding early, in her 17, and her life as wife was difficult: with a drunker husband, every year a new baby,
a few money for the family, but for alcohol.
Interesting story about life in amish world, full of troubles, fear, lies, problems... as our world.
I recommend it, enjoy.

[Tammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amish is so confusing!

Some Amish believe in cars, some dont. Some believe in women working in the community, some dont. Some wear ultra conservative clothing, some dont. Some drink, some dont but what really confounds me is all of them will excommonicate members and never talk to them again, calling it sin but forgive people in a heartbeat for killing their kids and call it love.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Holy Spirit was speaking to Eirene and brought ‘Englishers’ and other Amish people into her life that explained the Bible to her. Through this she gave her life totally to Jesus Christ. Powerful story of God’s faithfulness and how she was able to leave her family and Amish traditions to follow Christ.

[Les D Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book

This was a great book and story. I was blest by your testimony of how much God loves us and wants us to be in a right relationship with Him. Also how important it is to know that our salvation is not based on obedience to a religion but based on God’s grace, and what Christ did for us on the cross. I am looking forward to you next book.

[Loretta goble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and very different from other Amish beliefs

I enjoyed reading about how strong a person can be when they need to keep their family together at all costs. Then to have the only life they knew be taken away from them by their own family.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I could relate to it in a few ways, not the Amish ways because I didn’t grow up like that but some stuff she mentions and I just loved the way she talks about the Lord and to me it was a good story. It left me wanting to know more.

[Scott Ossewaarde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening

Eirene's story is very interesting as she explains the laws of her Amish cult. I never realized how abusive it could be because of their conflicting codes of acceptable behavior within each community.
****

[doug kinsman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and truly an inspirational testimony

This is one of the best true Amish books I've ever read!! It was an absolute joy to go on this journey with Eirene and to know she is now my sister in Christ Jesus!!

[Hyacinth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so moved by this story. I grew up in a denominational church. Reading your story reminded me a lot of my growing up... not all, but a whole lot. I was shocked to read about the alcohol and smoking being okay in your particular Amish order. I grew up believing that all of that was a sin. When I read, "I left all that I ever knew to follow Him" the tears began to flow. That has been the cry of my heart. More than anything, I want Him. It has caused me to walk alone at times, but the reward of His presence far outweighs any loneliness I could ever feel.

Honestly, some of what I read caused me pain. I don't know or understand how you did it. But I know it was God that got you through. The theme of prayer ran throughout the book. When you don't know, you pray.

Thank you for sharing such a powerful story with me and so many others. I look forward to reading your next book.

[Tammy Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have gone through a similar experience with leaving a religious sect that I was excommunicated from. I also lean heavily on my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I've never been married or had children so that I can't relate to but being shunned I can relate to.

[Dianna Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacking Detail

In my opinion, this is not well-written, and it’s lacking the detail needed to make it worth reading. With that said, it’s an informative story, and it helped me see a different world of the Amish.