• Growing Up Amish

  • A Memoir
  • By: Ira Wagler
  • Narrated by: Adam Verner
  • Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (184 ratings)

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Growing Up Amish  By  cover art

Growing Up Amish

By: Ira Wagler
Narrated by: Adam Verner
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Publisher's summary

One fateful starless night, 17-year-old Ira Wagler got up at 2 AM, left a scribbled note under his pillow, packed all of his earthly belongings into in a little black duffel bag, and walked away from his home in the Amish settlement of Bloomfield, Iowa. Now, in this heartwarming memoir, Ira paints a vivid portrait of Amish life - from his childhood days on the family farm, his Rumspringa rite of passage at age 16, to his ultimate decision to leave the Amish Church for good at age 26.

Growing Up Amish is the true story of one man's quest to discover who he is and where he belongs. Readers will laugh, cry, and be inspired by this charming yet poignant coming of age story set amidst the backdrop of one of the most enigmatic cultures in America today - the Old Order Amish.

©2012 eChristian Inc. (P)2012 eChristian, Inc.

What listeners say about Growing Up Amish

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Ultimately, uninteresting

Throughout, the book hints at heavy trials and tribulations that the writer will experience in his travels away from the Amish, but ultimately the book delivers none of this.

It is a boring book about the angst and restlessness of youth that finally reveals itself to be a Christian tract.

Not recommended.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A must read (or listen!)

Where does Growing Up Amish rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Fairly high

Have you listened to any of Adam Verner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Narrator was quite nice to listen to.

Any additional comments?

I listen to audible books at work, as well as read traditionally at home. One of my recent Audible purchases was Growing up Amish: A Memoir by Ira Wagler which you can find on Amazon (just click the Amazon banner on the right hand side of my page and give it a click then search the title). Give the Audible book a go the narrator is great!

I've always been curious as to the Amish way of life due to the fact we have a healthy population of them (and other Anabaptist groups) here in Indiana and you'll regularly see them at the Zoo as well as around the towns surrounding Indianapolis. I even buy cheese and apple butter from them regularly but never really talk to them past doing business. This book gave me an adequate look into the Amish way of life.

I'll note that the book isn't a look at a typical Amish life as Ira was one that hardly questioned the lifestyle and left the community a handful of times. This however in itself is an interesting thing. You see raw emotion in this book, the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, you get to see a boy become a man and question the world he knows. You also see a man who still highly respects his family and the culture he came from, never portraying them in a bad light but simply telling it how it is.

My only complaint with the book is it has left me wanting to know more about Ira's post Amish life, although he does have an easily found blog which let me do just that! Check the book out!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite book

I love this story and this man's heart. I can relate to his story even though I grew up in France Catholic and moving to the USA and giving my heart to Jesus in my early 30's. It's a story about the heart of man and being loved by God and loving God in spite of all man's rules and regulations. I also love this narrator and have found more books read by Adam Verner, he's my favorite

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Compelling but depressing

The performance was great. I really enjoyed the reader. The story is compelling and I had to finish it, but I kept hoping for some sort of "feel good" as it progressed. I think the ending was supposed to give the reader a lift bit it did not for me. The sadness I felt for his family and others who loved him left me with a dull ache. His journey in and out of the Amish faith was genuine but but so messy and hurtful to everyone. If you are hoping for any sort of spiritual lift from this, I wouldn't recommend it. I was planning to listen to his next book, Broken Roads, but don't know if I can take another downer.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

A waste of time

This books reads like the journal of someone who is unable or unwilling to to go below the surface of his own mind and feelings. I learned very little about the Amish and nothing about him beyond the chronology of his life.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What a great insight about Amish life!

I was curious about Amish life; this book was very insightful. It tells the story of one man's experience in a very real way!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Growing up Amish

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was time well-spent... teen angst in the midst of Amish life is a fascinating subject to me, and the author and narrator did a passible job of holding my interest

Would you be willing to try another book from Ira Wagler? Why or why not?

Probably not. This book could have had another few details about his post-Amish life... it dwelt a little too much on the yo-yoing back and forth between both worlds and really didn't touch much on his life after about 1988

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No... most biopics are either totally made up or boring as all get-out.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

VERY informative

love the narrator, the story was well written and informative. Really enjoyed I recommend it to anyone interested in Amish lifestyle The character sure had a hard time finding himself though!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book

I listen to a lot of memoirs. I appreciated this story and the honesty of what Ira faced as an Amish man that struggled with a faith that was thrust upon him. We often don’t choose our religion, it’s taught to us based on what our family believes. Although I’m wasn’t born to an Amish family, I can empathize with this struggle.

I would recommend this book to others that enjoy memoirs. If you’re looking for something racey or full of excitement, this might not be the book for you.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Story of a seeker

Not all grass is greener on the other side, but seeking was needed to return home more enlightened.

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