Ex-Amish at the Library

-News Alert-


Date: July 18, 2012

CONTACT: Gina Rozier

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

919-560-0151 or grozier@durhamcountync.gov

Durham County Library Hosts Award Winning Fiction Writer Alice J. Wisler

Program: Meet the Author: Alice J. Wisler
Date: Tuesday, July 31
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St.
Cost: Free and open to the public

About: Durham County Library welcomes Alice J. Wisler as she launches her latest novel, Still Life in Shadows, on Tuesday, July 31 at 7 p.m. at the Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St. A book signing will follow the reading.

In this work based upon the true story of ex-Amish member, Moses Gingerich, the novel‘s protagonist leaves his Amish community, settles in the mountains of North Carolina and helps other Amish relocate to life in modern America. The book captures many of Wisler’s interests: all of her novels revolve around North Carolina settings, and according to Wisler, “…have components of Southern fiction like sweet tea, grits and other things...” She also notes that “...if you find some parts that make you cry, well, that's an added bonus.” This latest work, however, departs slightly from thematic tones found within many of Wisler’s earlier novels. The subject matter in Still Life in Shadows is serious in nature, as it portrays protagonist Gideon Miller helping those choosing to leave the Amish faith and struggling to adapt to a new and unfamiliar modern world.

Wisler was raised in Japan, and returned to the United States where she graduated from Eastern Mennonite University. She has traveled and lived throughout the world, choosing to serve with organizations that minister to people. Through her travels, Wisler acquired experiences as diverse as her characters: She taught English as a Second Language in Japan and in refugee camps in the Philippines, worked in educational nonprofits with disadvantaged children and ran a cake-decorating business. Wisler now teaches grief writing courses to help others cope with the experience of losing loved ones. A Christy Award finalist for “Excellence in Christian Fiction,” Wisler resides in Durham, North Carolina.

For more information about the program, contact Joanne Abel at 919-560-0268.

Durham County Library provides the entire community with books, services and other resources that inform, inspire learning, cultivate understanding and excite the imagination. For more information, visit your local library or visit us online at durhamcountylibrary.org.

Don't glorify the Amish life

Ex-Amish back on TV with new series


By Janese Silvey of The Daily Columbia Tribune, Columbia, Missouri


Monday, April 30, 2012


A Columbia man who left his Amish roots and now helps others do the same is back on the small screen.


Moses Gingerich is the star of a 10-episode series, "Amish: Out of Order," on the National Geographic Channel. The program airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.


Dubbed by the cable channel as the "de facto mayor of the ex-Amish community in Columbia," Gingerich serves as a mentor for Amish teens trying to explore the outside world. He not only helps them escape when they reach out to him, Gingerich also helps them find work and stay out of trouble when they're here. Some ultimately decide to return to their communities, making Columbia a sort of revolving door for Amish.


The latest series highlights the challenges the teens face when they get here. Not only do they struggle with leaving family members and questions of faith; they also have to adapt to a new, modern world.


In tomorrow's episode, for instance, an ex-Amish teenager gets his driver's license but then has a car crash that lands him in the hospital. Making matters worse, according to an online preview, is that he doesn't get support from his family, including his father, who tells him he would have spent eternity in hell had he died.


Gingerich has provided the public with a rare glimpse of Amish life for years. After leaving his own community in Wisconsin, he was one of the stars of "Amish in the City," a one-season reality show that aired on UPN in 2004. Two years ago, he worked with the National Geographic Channel to produce two specials on the Amish life. The main reason Gingerich said he is willing to work with media to highlight his life is to show ex-Amish they aren't alone.


"I wanted to leave the Amish for many, many years and couldn't and wouldn't because I had no support," he said. "No one was there to tell me, 'It's OK.' There are hundreds of thousands of Amish kids in that same boat."


Gingerich's story caught the eye of North Carolina author Alice Wisler, a Christian author who works with Bethany House Publishers. That's the same company that publishes Beverly Lewis, best known for her dozens of novels about Amish life. Wisler said she was inspired by Gingerich's willingness to provide an alternate view of a life she feels has been somewhat glorified.


"There's so much more to the Amish than what people choose to believe," she said. "It was refreshing to hear that he was viewing his Amish life differently than what you usually hear when you're reading fiction about Amish."


Gingerich has since become inspiration for Wisler's latest book, Still Life in Shadows, which revolves around a character who left the Amish and helps others escape, including his brother. The book is set to be released in August.


Gingerich wasn't familiar with the book when asked about it but wasn't surprised. He hears from countless other non-Amish people who have read or watched his story.


"Many people in the outside world can relate to my story about how difficult it was for me to make a jump on my own," he said. "I'm not anything special, I just tell my life story, and it inspires people. And if I can inspire people, why the hell not?"


Reach Janese Silvey at 573-815-1705 or e-mail jsilvey@columbiatribune.com.


This article was published on page A8 of the Monday, April 30, 2012 edition of The Columbia Daily Tribune with the headline "Ex-Amish back on television: Columbia man's efforts followed." Click here to Subscribe.

Book event at Raleigh's Family Store

What a nice time I had this afternoon at Family Christian Stores.
Thanks to Sarah, John and James, plus all those who bought novels.