Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life

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Summary: I could never tell all
Review: I just recieved my copy of "Crossing Over" and what a wonderful book! There's no way I could or for that matter would, tell my life history for the world to read and see.People can be so harsh and so self rightous.Ruth Irene Garrett had the guts to tell her and Ottie's story of falling in love and her leaving the Old Order Amish for a man 20 plus years older and divorced.I believe if she was willing to tell her story then it must be true because she told her story from the heart.I felt every bit of pain she felt when those awful letters from her family arrived at her new home.She has to be a very strong person.I wish her all the luck in the world. I hope Hollywood does a great job telling her story. I'm glad I read the book before the TV movie comes out, because I'm sure they'll put their little twist to it and this way I know the story about Ruth Irene Garrett.

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Summary: Pretty good,,but not a necessity,,
Review: I loaned this book from the library , and read this book , as I personally know the author..i know that most of this book is quite accurate,,,but have wondered ,,"is it beneficial to others??"
I wish her folks and sister could have been helped,,and I personally know of other Amish areas where Irene could have moved too, and enjoyed it , instead of leaving , and going the way she did.
I wish that she would have the true peace, which only God can give through his son Jesus,,and hope she will receive that peace in her heart before it is too late,,,,,,,,,,and that goes for all of you readers.
best wishes

Rating:
Summary: an enlightening read
Review: I read this book in a few hours this afternoon, after becoming more and more curious about the Amish since I will be attending a college not too far from an Amish settlement in Pennsylvania. What I learned is both intriguing and saddening, as it seems that for all their separation from "English" society, the Amish suffer from the same problems and pitfalls within their families and societies that all of the rest of us do, albeit with a decidedly more old-fashioned flavor. But it's real nonetheless. I applaud Irene's bravery in standing up for her own personal faith, something which is always much more important than the establishment of religion.

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Summary: CROSSING OVER IS MISLEADING
Review: I thought this book would be about a transition from one lifestyle to another. It is more about a disfunctional family and immoral lifestyle. As a non-Amish Christian, I can say that her family had every responsibility as Christians to write to their daughter and encourage her to repent. She was in fact living a sinful lifestyle. She even tries to cover that up making it sound OK to live immorally. The scriptures quoted about divorce and adultry are true and correct. Enough already with the "victim" routine. If the author had really forgiven her family, then this book should never have been written. The Christian attitude would have been to forgive her family, let the matter go and to pray for her family - not to drag them through the mud. She wasn't so innocent herself. There is always hope in the Christian faith - even faith for her father to have the stones rolled away from his heart and be healed from what makes him so controlling and abusive. I work with Amish contractors. I have never remotely sensed any of the author's father's personality or behavior in any of them. I believe this book is an isolated incidence and not the norm. I do not recommend it at all.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but I wanted more
Review: I wanted more depth and details. The story of what Amish life was like was a little sparse, but I did like the book. It was very interesting and did show what it was like for the author to live as an Amish girl and woman.
I was a little leery when I first picked up the book because of the use of the word "cult". Some Christian writings identify religions as cults that are actually quite harmless such as the New Age and Wiccan religions because they disagree with them. But in the case of this book, the Amish were definately a cult. People are discouraged from exploring new ideas or even slightly different ideas from the Amish way of life.
Also what was interesting that if the author had been born in an "English" family, her parents probably would have divorced or the children taken away from a very abusive father. It is unfortunate that the First Admendment protects some people from the enforcement of the ordinary child protection laws, public schooling laws and public health laws.
At least everyone who reads this book won't think of the Amish as a romantic harkening to a better and more simple past. They have all the problems of the outside world but don't seek help, deny their problems and hide them behind a facade of innocence.

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Summary: I, too, was bothered ...
Review: I've long been fascinated with Amish culture, so I grabbed this book as soon as I heard it referenced on NPR. I'm happy for Irene's having escaped repression, but at the same time ... the way she portrays her relationship with Ottie is disturbing to me. I don't mean to be cruel, but she was swept off her feet by a man who weighed 450 pounds, was on disability, was THRICE-divorced, and "tricked" the Amish into posing for pictures - ones they believed were of nothing but their horses and their buggies. That's just a little creepy. The age difference also is disturbing in that when they met, Ottie was 40 and Irene was a mere 15 ... a minor, and an extremely naive one, at that. Of course Ottie was going to find her attractive, but how many 40-year-olds would act on a physical attraction to a teenager? I don't agree with the extremist beliefs of the Amish, but I sympathize very much with Irene's family. I wish Irene had been equipped with the emotional and intellectual tools to ask herself WHY the object of her affection was so severely obese that he couldn't earn a living, and why he had been divorced three times. We have three teenagers in our home, and I would be beside myself if any of them was to make such a decision.

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Summary: A good true life story, but leaves you wanting to know more.
Review: Iif you are looking for a book that will allow you inside the Amish lifestyle, this is not the one for you. This is more about Irene Garrett's life, and her family, who happen to be Amish. I enjoyed the book very much, but longed for more information about the Amish, and what it is like on the inside. However, I have learned that she has written a book called, "Born Amish", which is to be more descriptive of her life as an Amish person. So enjoy this book for what it is, a portrait of a woman coming out of the Amish, her struggle and eventual success in the world outside, and a spiritual triumph on the inside.

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Summary: Telling Her Story
Review: Irene Garrett's extraordinary new book 'Crossing Over' illuminates the hidden issues that comprise the underlying conflicts in one of America's most romantic minority communities, the Amish, or Plain People. As an excellent expansion on Irene and Ottie Garrett's first book 'True Stories of X-Amish' it explains in true detail where many of the sorrows and problems lie for two special groups--the young and the women--that are commonly found in many closed patriarchal bible-based societies. It is a very personal narrative--a real love story in the finest tradition of Romance Novels--and its exceptional value for researchers and general readers alike lies in the wealth of interior detail that is offered on a special way of life that is so different from our own. Irene Garrett's clear vision for herself and for those she loves sings out.

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Summary: Absoutley Fabulous!
Review: It is rare for me to get a hold of a book that captures my attention enough for me to finish it completly. I read this book in ONE DAY! I couldn't put it down! Irene is a woman of strength, courage, and great will. I admire her greatly for all she has gone through and over come. I have always been interested in the Amish. This book gives an interesting insight to one Amish woman's family life and her struggle to find and be happy. Well done Irene!

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Summary: Finished this book in no time flat!
Review: Little did I know that Mrs. Garrett presently lives in my old hometown! My mother bought this for me for Christmas and I was not only delighted to read about my hometown that I haven't visited in years, but the entire reading was wonderful! She is very forthwright and honest about her feelings at each stage in her life. This is a very curageous woman! Not only will you consume each chapter but you will have a few laughs on the way. Out of the many books I have read about the Amish, this has to be the best.