Free (nook/Kindle/ePub) The Miting [Xtian Amish Culture Clash Coming-of-Age Drama]

[ATDrake]

The Miting by Dee Yoder is the 1st in her Old Order Amish series of contemporary literary drama novels set amongst the series-titular subgroup (Wikipedia) of the broader sect, this installment starring a young woman who both a personal and a faith crisis when she begins to question the very strict regulations of the subgroup as well as the abuses such can sometimes foster, but also yearns for home and acceptance after temporarily leaving it only to find that returning is far from easy, free courtesy of Christian publisher Kregel.

Currently free, probably just for one day @ B&N (also UK), Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK) & Google Play (available to Canadians)

And this has been the selected 3rd (non-repeat… ish) free ebook thread of the day.

A bit by default, but I've always approved of the Amish tradition of the rumspringa (Wikipedia), which gives a certain amount of societal sanction to the kids trying out other ways of life for a time and deciding whether or not they want to truly commit to the Amish way of life, which I think is an important sort of option for people to have.

Sure, the societal setup is such that there's a heavy amount of pressure to conform. But at least people can openly leave if they truly don't fit in, and it's probably better to look at your life, look at your choices every so often and determine that yes, this is how you want to live it because and maybe some of it could use some improving but it's still what suits you best (or maybe you should just get out while you still can), instead of never even thinking of questioning the assumed status quo foisted upon oneself and the surrounding community at all.

Enjoy!

Description
Leah is seventeen and Amish. Like many her age, she has lots of questions, but the temporary flight of freedom known as rumspringen is not the answer for her. She does not desire Englisher fashion, all-night parties, movies, or lots of boyfriends. Leah is seeking to understand her relationship with God, to deepen and broaden her faith by joining a Bible study hosted by an ex-Amish couple.

She wants to know why Amish life is the only lifestyle her family accepts, why the church has so many rules, and . . . most disturbing, how godly men can allow her best friend to be abused in her own home. In the pressure-cooker environment of church and family, Leah is not allowed to ask these questions. When finally she reaches the breaking point, she walks away from the Old Order Amish life that is all she has known. Though adapting amiably to the Englisher world, Leah is tormented with homesickness.

Returning to the community, however, entails a journey of pain and sorrow Leah could never have imagined. The miting—shunning—that will now be Leah’s unendurable oppression every day is beyond her most devoted attempts to believe or understand. All the bishop and her family ask is that she abandon her practice of reading the Bible. Is that a price she is willing to pay?