Almost Amish by Kathryn Cushman

Almost Amish
By Kathryn Cushman

Reviewed by Martha Artyomenko

Julie Charlton is almost to the point of breaking. She is running ragged trying to keep up with schedules that are almost insanely busy. She feels exhausted, worthless and worst of all…. she is not enjoying any part of her life in the least bit.
Her sister in law, Susan, is the paragon of perfection. She is a Martha Stewart in training and when she calls Julie about a chance she has had to a part of a reality TV show about being almost like the Amish. Hoping it will be a break from the stress-laden reality that faces her now, Julie jumps at the chance!!

But as reality TV often is, wrought with conflicts of directors trying to make things more difficult, people who refuse to follow the rules and never mind, two relatives whom feel inadequate in their own ways. Can they learn the lessons from this experience and come out on top or will it destroy their families and relationships?

I am not a fan of Amish fiction, but this story is much less to do with the Amish, than it is about two sister-in-laws trying to be on a reality TV show. The dynamics of the story was excellent. Julie was very easy to connect with! As a mom, we have all felt that worthless feeling that we can never live up to the expectations of those around us. I think what many of us do not realize, is that the seemingly perfect ones have those same feelings of inadequacy. The drive to be perfect is not an easy road to walk…especially not without electricity. I always think though, that TV reality shows really have got it wrong sometimes…one of the biggest things the pioneers, the Amish and other people have that they are often missing on these, is friendship. Friends help you, if you don’t know how to bake a pie, which is when your neighbor steps in and helps you learn.

This book was fascinating! I loved the ending (which I won’t give away), but I love how Ms. Cushman brought everything all together! Great job!

(This book was provided by Bethany House Publishers for review)