Almost Amish Book Review

Book Description

Julie Charlton is at the breaking point. She’s overwhelmed and burned out, and in today’s unrelenting society, her kids are, too. When her sister-in-law Susan, a Martha Stewart-in-training, lands the chance to participate in a reality TV series promoting simple living, and needs another family to join her, it seems like the perfect opportunity. The location is an idyllic farm outside an Amish community in Tennessee. Julie, with her two children, joins Susan and her teenage daughter for a summer adventure.

Susan needs to succeed in order to become self-sufficient after an ugly divorce, Julie needs to slow down long enough to remember what her priorities are and regain a sense of purpose and meaning. It becomes clear from the start that “living simple” is no simple matter. With the camera watching every move, Susan’s drive for perfection feels a lot like what they left behind, while Julie suddenly finds herself needing to stand up for slowing down. With each new challenge, their season of “going Amish” gets more and more complicated, as each woman learns unexpected lessons about herself and her family.

My Thoughts

Definitely a different narrative for an “Amish” story, and it was not what I expected – but in a good way! Two women and their children leave their busy California lifestyles to spend a few weeks in TN Amish country for a reality TV show to live “Almost Amish.” They’re all put through different challenges each week to see how they would adapt to an Amish lifestyle – things like cooking over a wood stove, living with no air conditioning, and wearing conservative clothing. Needless to say, the “simple” life they imagined wasn’t at all what they expected, but full of hard work and little time for themselves. There were moments of self-discovery that added great depth to the story, and times when it was more important to stand up for what was right rather than fulfill a TV contract’s whims. All in all, it was a pleasant and quick read that fans of Amish or women’s fiction will easily enjoy.

4 Stars

**Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review. All thoughts are my own.

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