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You Can't Do That!: The Story of an Amish Deacon's Son Who Left the Fold and Became a Doctor
A unique memoir, written as a father-daughter duo, explores their Amish heritage - the pain and triumphs that come from breaking from the fold. The narrative explores the story of Albert Miller, an Amish child with an inquisitive mind who grew up in the heartland of Ohio. Despite the strict religious guidelines that almost led to his death as a baby, he survives to question his community’s culture and faith. The questions of why his life is different led him to consider leaving his community at a young age, even if that meant suicide. However, fate had in store for him more than his humble origins - his questions required answers. At the cost of losing the only home and faith he knew, he went beyond his 8th-grade education to become a medical doctor.
The story adds the insights of his daughter seeing this struggle as a third culture kid - not quite Amish, but also not raised by a ‘typically’ American dad. She sheds light on what it is to be brought up amongst secrets and unspoken truths to finally discover only as an adult that some truths you have to come to on your own.
The story adds the insights of his daughter seeing this struggle as a third culture kid - not quite Amish, but also not raised by a ‘typically’ American dad. She sheds light on what it is to be brought up amongst secrets and unspoken truths to finally discover only as an adult that some truths you have to come to on your own.
311 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 20, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 16, 2022
An epic true life story of going against the grind to discover who you are, your faith, and your purpose. A must read for anyone who find inspiration in the tales of others.
September 21, 2022
I would say this one was somewhere between 'okay' and 'pretty good'.
I grabbed it from the 'new' shelf at my library and I suspect the reason it made it there was because of the local interest aspect (Ohio Amish). While the book itself is physically pretty high quality, once you start reading you definitely get those self-pub vibes. I only mention this to frame some of the issues I'll be covering in this review, because I think they go hand-in-hand with this fact.
First, the good:
This is an interesting story told from the perspective of a man who was born into an Old Order Amish community and decides not to be baptized into it. If you don't know much about the religion, there is an appendix toward the end that gives greater context. I only skimmed this part since I've lived around such communities and have a fair understanding.
The conversational tone of this book (and it seems to be exactly that- largely a transcribed conversation) makes it easy to read. The book is divided into 4 parts, each with its own chapters. I hesitate to call them chapters as they're more like short sections, but all the same, this more or less worked. The general flow of the book is that each section tends to be a story, in a vague chronological order. It's easy to just read a chapter or two in a couple minutes.
The story is definitely amazing, and some of it is even a little jarring when looked at through a modern lens. The pathways open to him after leaving the Amish almost certainly would not have been now, and it's interesting to see just how much has changed in a relatively short time. His storytelling itself is great and this book really does feel like you've met the man and had a long conversation with him.
The not-so-good:
The sections that are commentary from his daughter are marked by a gray background and, to be very honest, I started dreading seeing the splashes of that color on the back of a page. They didn't really feel relevant to what seemed to be a memoir in every other sense. Any salient points about the similar experiences between father and daughter tended to be drowned out against the vague political tangents and some statements that were...questionable, at best. (Disclaimer: I don't think she had intent of offending or denigrating anyone, but there were definitely some comments that rubbed me a weird way, particularly regarding race/ethnicity).
This book could have really benefited from some editing. There were a lot of simple grammatical errors. These were typically in the form of commas, which seemed to be used in exceedingly creative ways. There were also portions where the story will briefly veer off on tangents. That said, I believe this may have been a conscious choice to keep in (though not one I necessarily agree with) as it preserves the conversational tone.
Overall, I think this could've been a much better book with some serious editing and proofreading. And maybe a bit less of those just-barely-related commentaries, for which I deducted a full star here.
I grabbed it from the 'new' shelf at my library and I suspect the reason it made it there was because of the local interest aspect (Ohio Amish). While the book itself is physically pretty high quality, once you start reading you definitely get those self-pub vibes. I only mention this to frame some of the issues I'll be covering in this review, because I think they go hand-in-hand with this fact.
First, the good:
This is an interesting story told from the perspective of a man who was born into an Old Order Amish community and decides not to be baptized into it. If you don't know much about the religion, there is an appendix toward the end that gives greater context. I only skimmed this part since I've lived around such communities and have a fair understanding.
The conversational tone of this book (and it seems to be exactly that- largely a transcribed conversation) makes it easy to read. The book is divided into 4 parts, each with its own chapters. I hesitate to call them chapters as they're more like short sections, but all the same, this more or less worked. The general flow of the book is that each section tends to be a story, in a vague chronological order. It's easy to just read a chapter or two in a couple minutes.
The story is definitely amazing, and some of it is even a little jarring when looked at through a modern lens. The pathways open to him after leaving the Amish almost certainly would not have been now, and it's interesting to see just how much has changed in a relatively short time. His storytelling itself is great and this book really does feel like you've met the man and had a long conversation with him.
The not-so-good:
The sections that are commentary from his daughter are marked by a gray background and, to be very honest, I started dreading seeing the splashes of that color on the back of a page. They didn't really feel relevant to what seemed to be a memoir in every other sense. Any salient points about the similar experiences between father and daughter tended to be drowned out against the vague political tangents and some statements that were...questionable, at best. (Disclaimer: I don't think she had intent of offending or denigrating anyone, but there were definitely some comments that rubbed me a weird way, particularly regarding race/ethnicity).
This book could have really benefited from some editing. There were a lot of simple grammatical errors. These were typically in the form of commas, which seemed to be used in exceedingly creative ways. There were also portions where the story will briefly veer off on tangents. That said, I believe this may have been a conscious choice to keep in (though not one I necessarily agree with) as it preserves the conversational tone.
Overall, I think this could've been a much better book with some serious editing and proofreading. And maybe a bit less of those just-barely-related commentaries, for which I deducted a full star here.
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September 20, 2022A fascinating biography of a dream achieved
This is the true story of a man who left the Amish faith to become a physician. It details the many significant challenges he faced in moving from a sheltered community into general society, including his dress, language, family, educational background, religion, and community. It is the story of a man pursuing and achieving his dreams, despite many setbacks.
There are some minor formatting issues in the Kindle version, but they do not detract from the story.
This is the true story of a man who left the Amish faith to become a physician. It details the many significant challenges he faced in moving from a sheltered community into general society, including his dress, language, family, educational background, religion, and community. It is the story of a man pursuing and achieving his dreams, despite many setbacks.
There are some minor formatting issues in the Kindle version, but they do not detract from the story.
September 6, 2022
I believe we all get to a point in life, mostly in our youth, when we need to look for answers to the questions we have regarding life, what is shown to us as "true", about who we really are and who we want to become. The difference here is that to find such answers, Albert had to leave everything behind and face an unknown world to him. What an interesting and inspiring story! And I particularly enjoyed learning more about the Amish community. Great book!
June 16, 2022
This is a wonderful story-it's captivating,
informative, and inspirational. It provides a unique
perspective and can be enjoyed by all types of
readers!
informative, and inspirational. It provides a unique
perspective and can be enjoyed by all types of
readers!
January 14, 2023
Very fascinating true story. I really enjoyed getting a different look at the Amish community.
May 15, 2023
2.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews