Customer Reviews

Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to the Amish

5 star:		(21)
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1 star:		(9)

 

 

I've long been fascinated by accounts of the lifestyles and beliefs of the Amish. As a parent, I am often overwhelmed by unease about our culture. It's obvious that consumerism is the machine that's driving some of us off the cliff, but few of us (especially thirtysomething women like myself) know how to avoid feelings that we must be the best--we must have it all, we have to be it all. Hoping for some insight, I read Bender's book.

I think what bothered me the most was that Bender's situation between the lines was almost comically present in the book, like watching someone lip-synch to a stuttering recording. I was disturbed that her "resume" as ceramics artist, therapist, and numerous college degrees were offered up more often than, say, specifics about her relationships with her children and husband. SHE is the only person that's affected by her experiences with the Amish. Her "be a star" upbringing, her overachieving, her dislike of housework--all of this is undermined by the tremendous economic and cultural freedom she obviously enjoys. She jets around the country without a thought, and leaving her husband for months at a time never seems to be an issue. A little inner voice tells her to go back to the Amish "to complete the circle", and baby, she's on the next flight. I feel this is why another reviewer on Amazon commented that Bender sounds like she needs a therapist herself.

Her intensity becomes narcissistic because her gaze is focused so strongly on herself. She talks lovingly about the limited choices that Amish life offers when her own life is an amazing example of freedom. She assumes the reader will have patience with her descriptions of the way she works out some of her feelings through her art when she's home--these are by far the most difficult portions of the book. It's almost as if Bender had to add details of how un-Amish she is to improve the contrast between the two worlds.

I feel that we need to rescue our children and families as much as we need to rescue ourselves from being so damn driven to have the best, and have as much of it as possible. There are some insights in this book that I thought could touch a "normal" woman's life, but as I said, you have to be willing to ignore the narrowness of Bender's focus. Bottom line: this book is quick read and the form compliments Bender's observations on Amish life, which are engrossing. However, Bender's "Plain and Simple" message would have been more authentic, more believable, and less irritating if she had been able to show how her insights affected someone other than herself.

there are, indeed, answers...try reading this book. Its present day American anthropology, and at the least, a personal experience that you'll relate to, and...yes, not relate to. But this book will give you inspiration, and make you question the basics of your own life.

This is personal book. A journal. A journey.

It has a distinct artist flavor to it, (I highly recommend it to artists or those of artist nature and intensity). Some people won't like it. They'll not understand the culture which is indeed, highly controversial, even amoung those who are close neighbors to the Amish, and yes, even among the Amish themselves. You might be intrigued, however, if "Amish" is something new to you.

I grew up in the vicinity of an Amish community that the author describes, and I still visit the area regularly. My family has always deeply appreciated their beliefs, even though my family was from an entirely different culture/religion. Sometimes, many times, we didn't understand...but we recognized that they could create what we couldn't do. My family has many Amish quilts, we've eaten many Amish meals, purchased many of their wares...one of our favorites being one family's delicious Angel Food cakes (all made without electricity). I've seen the Amish plowing their fields, not long after the snow has melted (the last time was 11 months ago), with a team of magnificent horses on a hand-hewn plow that looks like something from a museum (in our culture)...and the scene...yes, so lovely... a scene like a painting that's come to life.... It is easy for people to imagine Van Gogh standing alongside the wooden fence which marks the boundry between horse-drawn plow and automobiles, painting quickly, watching the spirit slowly fade...how long can the Amish avoid technology?

I knew of the Amish, before moving to Boston, and now, that, we're here in Silicon Valley. I happened on this book in the bookshop at Pacific Grove, in fact. It seemed to be a peaceful book, suited for my peaceful weekend getaway.

It turned into more than that. I could relate to the author's curiousity; I could relate to the Amish from my own vague experiences; I could relate to the book as a journey of finding out how one really feels about our Self in this world that's scheduled within 15-minute segments on a Daytimer. I could relate to the importance of life's experiences that don't always involve the stock market and money.

Its an easy read. Nicely experienced after a cup of tea just before bed, where you can privately sigh with a sense of true relaxation.... Yes, (sigh) slow down...read a while, turn off the light and imagine the world you just read about.

But...in the morning...well.... How does it all connect? What is this odd formula that causes these small societies to produce many fine pieces of art? (Or is it, in marketing jargon, just a product?) What is it that pulls these people together? What is it that makes them try something seeming too difficult and seemingly too time-consuming? It is worthwhile, as a bottom-line, to... spend time?

Enjoy.

I'd love to meet the author...even though we have a library of thousands of books, I've only said that about Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, who won the McArthur Award. I have met her briefly. She's wonderful. (She was the advisor to a dear friend of mine at university in NH.)

The "air" of the books are somewhat similar.

"Plain and Simple" is a good book, especially if you like "journal, diary-type" manuscripts. Buy it to try it. It might work for you. It might be just too foreign to you. But it is a good gamble.

I was expecting to read a book about the Amish. What I read instead was a very self centered book about a woman searching, rather blindly, I felt, for herself.

She had very little in the way of insight into Amish life, even after spending a period of time with them. And her inability to get outside of her own head/her own life was not terribly interesting to read.

For someone who always longed to be a 'star,' I am sure publishing a book was quite a thrill for her. Shame she used the Amish as a platform for her own ego.

I don't even know where to start.

If she wasn't so (as we are constantly reminded) well-educated and well travelled I would assume that the author just didn't know how to be a gracious guest. Instead of relishing this rare hospitality (Amish families very rarely invite Englisch guests to stay with them) she repeatedly criticizes her first host family (the wife isn't fit enough, the food isn't healthy enough, her room isn't big enough.) Then when a second family allows her to stay with them she thinks that being their guest for two weeks means she has a right to belittle their plans to expand their homestead to included a much needed birthing center for the community.
And to top it all off, when she gets home, she's too special to share her experiences with regular people, and now thinks the people who were previously her social peers are like "sharks."

This book is not worth your time. There are several excellent books that include far more insight into the lives of the Amish and far less over-intellectualized, self-centered, whining and condescension. See "Driving the Amish" by Jim Butterfield.

This book is a self-centered piece of random musings. It is not about the Amish. It is about the author, and frankly, she's not someone I would really care to meet and discuss important issues with. She spends SO much time on HER thoughts, HER ideas, that one forgets this is supposed to be a book about the Amish way of life. This is not a journey TO the Amish. It is a boring, breathtakingly conceited journey into the author's confused mind. I suggest counseling for her. Her book just plain stinks.

I bought this book because it was mentioned in another book I was reading. I have always had an interest in the Amish from an anthropological point of view and this was not a disappointment at all. Sue Bender runs across antique Amish quilts and is fascinated by their unique simple designs and bold colors. For years she has her contacts on the look out for more examples of this beautiful "art" that is so functional. Then she discovers the "faceless" dolls that Amish mothers make for their daughters. The dolls have no facial features because the Amish proscribe to the "no graven image" commandment very strictly. She was delighted with the doll sent to her by an Amish woman with whom she started a correspondence. She then decided she wanted to live among the Amish for a time. She was told they would not take her in; however, a small ad in an Amish paper elicited a response from a family willing to have her live with them for a time. So her journey began. Her impressions did not always fit with her romantic illusions of the "simple" life and she learned much. After several weeks, she goes home to digest what she has learned. Then, she decides to go back and try the experiment again with a different (very different) family. She learns even more. All stereotypes are mostly shattered as she lives with a midwife, her large family and her chiropractor sister and she leaves much richer (emotionally) than when she arrived.

I enjoyed this volume very much. It had an excellent layout and is a fast read. The impressions are honest and introspective and Ms. Bender is kind enough to wrap the most important lessons learned into a nine-patch quilt for us at the end. There are many fine ideas we can take with us at the conclusion of the story not the least of which is how much we have in common with the Amish as opposed to how different we are. It's a book I will return to again and again for insight.

I thought this book was a sad commentary on the lostness of the author. Though she sought to understand the Amish way of life, she totally missed what it is all about. Maybe it was because the church service was in German or maybe she was so focused on herself that she could not see beyond to the fact that peace comes from a relationship with God. Her final line in the book stated that miracles take a lot of work. I would beg to disagree and say that God is the one who does miracles and therefore they take no work, just faith. This is what Sue Bender missed and is still missing I am afraid. We use Amish textbooks in our home education program, so the insights she shared were not really new to me. I think her description of the Amish is valid, but her understanding is lacking. I would not particularly recommend this book.

Sue Bender's book "Plain and Simple" is a refreshing alternative to the usual Self-Help pap that overwhelms the genre. Instead of telling the reader what to do or what to believe, Bender simply spins out the tale of her journey to the Amish and then reveals the metaphor that the journey created for her own life.

This book is not a documentary on the life of the Amish. It is not a psychoanalysis of these people. It is not about which lifestyle is better. It is like reading someone's journal--the entries are personal and intimate. They relate to the author's life and her struggle to find a common ground between the Amish values and the values that her current lifestyle embraces.

I found the book to be very affirming of my own values and very thought provoking. As an artist, I was also interested to read about how her artwork changed as a result of this encounter. I applaud the author for having the courage to follow the "still small voice" and then to write about the questions rather than being tempted to write about the answers!

This book is 'just okay.' I came away from reading the book not knowing too much about the Amish. Sue prefers to keep most of the information to herself. She does, however, make sure she gets in adequate writing about all of her 'accomplishments' -- and makes apparent her desire to return to her old life of those accomplishments. (Big hairy deal!) Personally I think she's a bore....and a boor; actually I found her to be pompous. She had a wonderful idea which could have been made better. Sue Bender, you need to grow up.

This book was given to me as a birthday gift by a friend with whom I was in business. Unkowingly, this friend, also named "Sue", gave me the key to relaxation. When things get hectic and chaotic in my life, I read Plain and Simple. From the time I start reading, there is a peace that comes over me and I feel so calm afterwards. The writing seems to put me where Sue was when she was visiting the Amish...the same quiet peace I feel when gazing over miles of farmland dotted with homes with barns and silos - - and no electrical poles! Unfortunately, I am not surrounded by that environment, so reading Plain and Simple brings me there! Having loaned my copy to an elderly friend who was rehabilitating after heart surgery, I waited for her response. She didn't think she could read it since she was having trouble "concentrating on more than a paragraph of anything printed". I left it with her anyway, and at my next visit, she not only thanked me profusely, but told me she was adding it to her book "gift list"! So, I knew then it was not only me who benefited from the peace of the book. My thanks to the author!