cover image The Amish: A Photographic Tour

The Amish: A Photographic Tour

Carol M. Highsmith, Landphair, C. Highsmith. Crescent, $15.99 (128pp) ISBN 978-0-517-20398-9

Stoltzfus (Two Amish Folk Artists), an editor for Good Books, here explores what it means to be Amish at the approach of the millennium for women like herself who are ``glad... to have been Amish.'' The author, who was raised in the Old Order Amish community of Lancaster County, Penn., today pursues a career not far from where she grew up. Visiting with contemporary Amish women who live industriously in quiet homes and on secluded farmsteads, she finds a surprising degree of freedom within these women's highly structured lives. Of particular note in the vignettes she presents is the Amish way of dealing with grief, and the rituals of bereavement, which in fact allow for generous self-expression. According to Stoltzfus, most Amish women and men live fulfilling lives, valuing self-sufficiency but also choosing quietly to adapt to some of the conveniences of ``the world.'' While evidence exists that Amish life in southeastern Pennsylvania is waning, a book such as this demonstrates its simple rhythms. (Dec.)