Simple Pleasures: Stories from My Life as an Amish Mother by Marianne Jantzi

I was looking on one of my book groups a few weeks ago and I came across a new find!

I'm a big fan of Amis fiction and was super excited to find the Plainspoken Series.  These are real life stories from the Amish and Mennonites.  I ordered my copy off of Amazon and when it got here dove right into it.  

From the back:  Young Amish homemaker Marianne Jantzi invites readers into her family s life and Amish community. The mother of four young children, Jantzi writes about her daily routines and heartfelt faith with equal measures of wit and warmth. Sewing, cleaning, cooking, gardening, and helping to manage the family store take up most hours in her day, but Jantzi finds time to pen columns for the Connection, a magazine beloved by Amish and Mennonite readers. Never sugarcoating the frustrations of motherhood, Jantzi tells it like it is, broken washing machine and bickering children and all. But through her busy days, Jantzi finds strength in simple pleasures of family, fellowship with her Amish community, and quiet time with God.

Hear straight from Amish people themselves as they write about their daily lives and deeply rooted faith in the Plainspoken series from Herald Press. Each book includes A Day in the Life of the Author and the author s answers to FAQs about the Amish.

This book is written in a very different style.  What I liked about it was that you got a real look at Amish living.  You get to see it for what it is and real life is very different from its fictional counterpart.  The reader gets to "see" what happens day to day and that part for me was really great.  

But I had some problems with the book.  I'm not sure if it was how Marianne intended or how the publisher put it together but the book jumps around.  A lot.  The writer will start on one topic, like how her daughter found a new word and used it often.  The next paragraph will take a sharp left and talk about squirrels in a bird feeder.  The chapters don't flow together with a particular theme.  You will bump and jump around.  I had a problem with this and had to stop and regroup myself or remember who was what frequently.  I think they were trying to go for a letter style book but didn't quite make the mark.  

So if you are interested in hearing Amish life from an Amish perspective and you don't mind the topics bouncing around and changing this book is worth checking out.  Happy Reading!