Word: amish
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...toxic" part I knew already. Between the catastrophic diaper failure while touring Amish country circa 2004, and the projectile vomiting episode on the way to the beach in '01, my family van has been a rolling Superfund site for years. (See the 50 worst cars of all time...
Lewis' books in particular are an antidote to overstimulated nerves. The Amish (who number about 230,000, mostly in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana) are notable for what they reject - from televisions to electric kitchen appliances to zippers - which means a quiet environment for readers. The pace is slow and soothing; no conversations in Bird-in-Hand are interrupted by a ringing cell phone...
Still, simplicity doesn't necessarily mean serenity. In The Secret, Lettie Byler, a troubled wife and mother in a devout Amish home, is, for some mysterious reason, depressed and tearful. Eventually she disappears into the night, in what is "surely the most remarkable tittle-tattle to hit the area in recent years." Englischers (i.e., the non-Amish) might have steered Lettie into a psychiatrist's office for a course of Prozac. But Lettie's large family has other modes of counsel: talking and cooking and harvesting and raising barns and praying together. Her 21-year-old daughter Grace holds...
...hardly sounds like the stuff of controversy, but Lewis' novels have been banned by some Amish leaders in Ohio because of theological differences. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that has not prevented the books from reaching an Amish readership. Lewis has received thousands of letters over the years from Amish fans. "I don't want to mislead you, Mrs. Lewis," confided a correspondent. "All of us are reading them under the covers." Barnes & Noble's religion-book buyer, Jane Love, confirms that sales are particularly strong in Amish areas. (See the 100 best novels of all time...
Like her fellow chroniclers of the Amish, Lewis proves that it isn't necessary to lace every scene with lust to keep the reader's attention. Grace's suitor in The Secret tenderly proposes to her without ever having kissed her. "'Tis mighty gut," he says with deep affection. "Will you agree to be my bride?" That scene is not likely to be repeated outside Lancaster County anytime soon, but Bird-in-Hand is an appealing place for a jaded Englischer to escape to for a while - which is part of the romance, after...