Anything but Simple: My Life as a Mennonite - Lucinda J. Miller

4 Stars

ABOUT THE BOOK -

If you live in a conservative Mennonite community, edges are sewn shut and questions have answers. So if you’ve got a saucy tongue and a roving curiosity about the world, you’ve got a story to tell.

As a schoolteacher in a small Mennonite school in rural Wisconsin, Lucinda J. Miller wears long dresses and a prayer covering, like her grandmother, and she knows a lot about cooking and making do with what you’ve got. But she uses a cellphone and posts status updates on Facebook.

So why would a young woman with access to all these technologies remain within a sheltered community like the plain Mennonites? How can someone with an eye for beauty and a sometimes sardonic wit stay within a tradition that values discipline and submission and uniformity?

Anything but Simple is the stirring memoir of a young woman’s rich church tradition, lively family life, and longings for a meaningful future within her Mennonite faith.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
Lucinda J. Miller is a writer, teacher, blogger, and member of a conservative Mennonite community in Wisconsin. She teaches elementary school at the Sheldon Mennonite Church, and her writing has appeared in Daughters of Promise and Red Cedar Literary Journal. Her children's book, The Arrowhead, is forthcoming from Christian Light Publications. 

Connect with her at lucindajmiller.com.


MY THOUGHTS - 
I have read lots of books about Amish life, the Shakers and even the Hutterites, but surprising this is the first book I have read about the Mennonite life. I lived a good part of my life in upstate NY and we had a large community of Mennonites (and Amish) A lot of people don't know that about NY state. I even shopped at a wonderful Mennonite grocery store. I was surprised how little I really knew about them. 

I liked how this book was not only about some of the Mennonite traditions and way of life but mostly about the author's own personal life within her family, a bit of her family's history, and her start as a writer. This was definitely a very interesting read.

Parts of this book were very sweet and heartwarming but what really hooked me in was the author herself. She was so real! She seemed like such a fun-loving person, honest, upfront and even a bit quirky. There were a few moments where her sarcasm showed through - and I loved it!  I really liked her personality, I think if she lived near me, we would be friends.  :-)

A very quick short read, but you are in for a real treat with this one! 

I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from MennoMedia of Herald Press ~ Thank You!

Order your copy from Amazon - HERE