I recently received "Almost Amish" by Kathryn Cushman from Bethany House Publishing Group to review. I never thought I would enjoy reading Amish fiction, but the more I read the more I get drawn in! Apparently I love reading about the "simple" lifestyle.
From CBD's produt description:
"Julie Charlton is at the breaking point. She's overwhelmed and burned out, and in today's unrelenting society, her kids are, too. When her sister-in-law Susan, a Martha Stewart-in-training, lands the chance to participate in a reality TV series promoting simple living, and needs another family to join her, it seems like the perfect opportunity.
The location is an idyllic farm outside an Amish community in Tennessee. Julie, with her two children, joins Susan and her teenage daughter for a summer adventure. Susan needs to succeed in order to become self-sufficient after an ugly divorce, Julie needs to slow down long enough to remember what her priorities are and regain a sense of purpose and meaning. It becomes clear from the start that "living simple" is no simple matter. With the camera watching every move, Susan's drive for perfection feels a lot like what they left behind, while Julie suddenly finds herself needing to stand up for slowing down. With each new challenge, their season of "going Amish" gets more and more complicated, as each woman learns unexpected lessons about herself and her family."
First off, I will say that I absolutely loved this book. I completely identified with everything Julie was going through. Having 2 young kids and never having enough time to do everything exactly as I want leaves me exhausted more often than I'd like to admit. There were many things in this book that actually helped me feel like less of a failure. This was more of an entertaining "self--help" book than a fictional novel. Kathryn Cushman is an amazing writer, and I can't wait to read more of her books. The problems and solutions in this book were very true to real-life problems and solutions even though it has a reality t.v. setting. If you are having trouble identifying what your true gift is and just need some encouragement, I'd recommend this book. There were several thought-provoking statements made in this book, and I feel like a better person for having read it....which says a LOT for a fictional novel!!
