Magical Memoir Moments

A Fancy Review from a Former Plain Girl: And a Book Giveaway

The heading for Marian Beaman’s blog. She wore a larger covering than I did. Every writer hopes for a finely-tuned reader who will inspire her to place the best words on the page and who will challenge her to keep listening for even fairer music. As we write, we call upon our Muses as the…

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The Day Before Launch: Going Home to Lititz During Harvest.

Who says you can’t go home again? Reporter Sarah Chain certainly disagrees. The official launch will be held tomorrow night at Lititz Mennonite Church, 165 Front Street, Lititz, Pennsylvania. 7 p.m. If you live close by, please join us! We’ll have a party, and we’ll relive a little Lancaster Conference Mennonite Church history in the…

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The Longhouse Project at the Hans Herr House: A Good Beginning

Like many Mennonites whose roots go back to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I am a descendent of Hans Herr. The 1719 Hans Herr House, built in that year by Christian and Anna Herr, is the oldest surviving house in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and the oldest original Mennonite meeting house still standing in the Western Hemisphere. I…

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Making New Friends at the Mennonite Church-USA Convention: Lakota and Choctaw Women

Yesterday, Independence Day, I felt an inward nudge to visit the Native Mennonite American Ministries booth here at the Mennonite gathering in Phoenix. I wanted to know more about Mennonites who are also Native Americans. Writing my memoir Blush has brought more awareness about the long history of this great land. Six generations of my…

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Why a Night at Forgotten Seasons is the First Prize of the 100 Day Challenge: An Interview With Kathy Wenger

  Forgotten Seasons, a bed & breakfast near Lititz, Pennsylvania, holds a special place in my heart. When I thought about a prize for the 100 Day Challenge, a night at Forgotten Seasons seemed like a natural. All across America, family farms are disappearing. They are either turned into residential and commercial development or into…

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The Plain Girl Within: One of Many Surprises in Writing My Memoir

  At first I thought that my memoir would be about difference — how I felt like an outsider much of the time in my growing up years. When I started going to school, I became aware that I was “plain.” Sometimes I felt inferior to the majority of the students who were “fancy.” I…

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The Author Responds to Critique: Thrill of the Chaste Part III

I’ve admired Valerie Weaver-Zercher’s insights and frisky, learned (not a combo you meet every day) writing style ever since I first read her work in magazines. Over the years, I found her reviews in Christian Century, her articles about practical spirituality in Sojourners (you can purchase at Amazon through the link) and her op-eds in…

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"You Can't Have it All": Part Two from Saloma Furlong's Review of Thrill of the Chaste

I grew up in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. Farms like the one on the left peppered the hills and valleys of that beautiful place. So did other signs of rural life. Two years ago I stayed with my sister Sue for several days, preparing for a talk called “The Purpose of Memory” at…

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American Culture and Amish Fiction: Why Now and Why So Much? Part One.

When he heard that I finally earned my Ph.D., my grandpa told me those three letters meant “Piled High and Deep.” He didn’t have a lot of respect for speculation and abstraction. My field is an interdisciplinary one, called American Civilization, at the University of Texas at Austin, where I did my doctoral study. A…

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A Mennonite Memoir Filled with Awe: Don Jacobs' What a Life!

I’m grateful today for publishers and publications that allow small groups of people to keep their collective identity alive. Good Books is one of those publishers. Mennonite World Review offers a place for readers to connect to the books. Hurrah for both! April 1 issue Voice of awe and gratitude by Shirley Hershey Showalter Is it…

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