An Evening With Beverly Lewis

For a number of years my Mom and I have enjoyed reading a series of Amish stories by Beverly Lewis. The stories have given us a great interest in the Amish lifestyle. It's such fun to be reading a certain book together and get a phone call from Mom asking,”have you gotten to the part where…” Or maybe I’ll make the call “where are you at…can you even believe?…” Well, this past Tuesday night we went to the Englewood library and met Beverly Lewis in person!!  She told about her background, growing up in the heart of Amish country in Pennsylvania and her great loves…playing the piano, reading and writing! She told how she and her sister would play in the fields belonging to their Amish neighbors.  Her Dad would call out to them, “you girls get out of those fields before you get harvested!”  She has had many Amish women write to her telling how they love her books, and are reading them literally under the blankets! Or they share real experiences form their community and some of these experiences become stories.  I thought it was neat that she has a pen pal who began writing her when the girl was nine years old and she is now 24!

So if you’re in the mood for a good read this summer, or as the Amish say, “want a good tellin’”  then try one of Beverly Lewis’ books.  Mom and I started with The Shunning in The Heritage of Lancaster County Series.  (It was written from the experience of Beverly’s own grandmother’s shunning!) Happy Reading!