Levi’s Will
By W.Dale Cramer
Reviewed by Martha Artyomenko
It is dark. All are sleeping. All, but two young amish men as they steal out in the night and jump aboard a train as hobos. They do not where they are going, one is going as an adventure, the other to escape the boundaries of the life and rules of his father. He is seeking acceptance in the world, and wonders if he can find it. Following three rules a fellow hobo gives him that first day on the train, Will sets out on a life journey that changes his life, but he wonders the good of it many a time. You will travel with Will, through his life trials and wonder with him, what if he had made a different choice? What if his father made a different choice?
<p> I have read many a Amish fiction story, and when I started reading this one, suddenly foind it to be different and was not surprised when I reached the end of it and discovered it to be based on a true story. It had the ring of truth to it, from me growing up among many ex-Amish and ex-Mennonite families, I learned alot. I still remember visiting an old Order Amish farm with some ex-Amish friends and wondering at their treatment of her. This story is so well written, it is amazing. You will feel the pain of Will in the choices he has made, he knows he has not made the right choices and feels the pain of it. You will feel for his wife and think with amazement, at least I did, at all she put up with. You will read until the last page when Mr Cramer successfully sums up many of the things that plague, not just Amish, Mennonite churches, but many churches.
<p> I highly recommend this book, especially if you would like to understand the dynamics that confuse you in the Amish faith.