How Real is ROSEMARY?
Jim Smith, my research source from the Old Order Amish
colony of Jamesport, MO, told me an interesting story last week—a glimpse into
how real-life Amish perceive these Amish books so many of us are reading and
writing these days. My books have been for sale in the Christian bookstore in
Jamesport, but apparently the owner, Joe Burkholder, was dissuaded from
stocking any more of them because his mother found my stories upsetting. She
didn’t like it that I had an unwed mother in one book, and an arrogant Bishop
keeping secrets, because those kinds of folks aren’t supposed to exist among
the Amish. Bishops can do no wrong. Girls don’t have sex before they get
married.
Ah, you say, but they can and they do! If you’ve followed
the story of the rogue bishop Sam Mullet and the hair/beard cutting attacks in
Ohio, you realize just how power can corrupt any leader, and how far believers
will go to stay true to their faith. The Amish, like the rest of us, are human…but
they don’t want their shortcomings and sins published for the rest of the world
to read about.
Joe, however, has called me to order a bunch more of my
books for his store. Jim says he got around his mother’s objections by saying, “It’s a novel. Readers understand that.”
What a perfect answer!
And it brings up the related question: how much of Amish
fiction is true-to-life, and how much is romanticized? Most of us picture life
without cell phones, computers, cars, and electricity as much more idyllic than
the way we live—we don’t want to give up our conveniences, but we sure would
like the simpler countryside lifestyle where families gather around the table
for every meal and neighbor helps neighbor and we’re not bombarded by
computer-generated phone calls, political ads, and rush hour traffic.
I suspect that most women readers would not be as submissive to their husbands as the Old Order faith
requires, either. And I suspect that while most readers compliment me for
having strong Amish heroines who don’t play doormat to their men, those ladies
might not be so headstrong or bold in real Amish life. But many of the things
Abby Lambright, Miriam Lantz—and now Rosemary Yutzy—do are based upon what I’ve
found to hold true for someone in Jamesport.
In ROSEMARY OPENS HER HEART, for instance, Rosemary has
chosen to live with her father-in-law Titus after her husband Joe is killed in
a hunting accident. Because most Amish women are dependent upon men—and because
the men take care of sisters, aunts, and other unmarried or widowed women in
their family—this is accurate. While Rosemary could have lived with her widowed
mother and unmarried sister, she chose instead to help Titus with his household
and his twelve-year-old daughter Beth Ann, who have lost their wife/mom.
Rosemary is preserving Joe’s family this way, an honorable way to spend her
life.
It’s also true that everyone Rosemary knows would insist
that she should remarry—if only to give her toddler Katie a father. Rosemary
has other ideas, however! Even if Matt Lambright is sincere and earnest (and
good-looking!) she can’t yet let go of her past with Joe. She has a dream of
supporting herself by baking pies—a very authentic Amish way for unmarried
women to earn money—and she realizes that her dream will go by the wayside if
she remarries.
Rosemary also has an option a lot of widows don’t: when Joe
died, they had a piece of paid-for property where they planned to build a home
of their own. (Most young Amish couples live with either her parents or his
until they can afford a house. Joe and Rosemary lived in her mom’s house).
Rosemary uses this property as leverage when Titus insists she move to Cedar
Creek with him—and it plays into Matt’s fantasies about moving to Queen City to
be with Rosemary, too. Rather than allow this piece of land to melt into
Titus’s estate when he sells out, she insists on being paid fair market value
for it. Here again, submission is not Rosemary’s cup of tea, and in real Amish life
she might not get away with such an independent mindset.
A lot of folks—my editor included—have the notion that all
Amish properties are postcard-perfect, all homes are neat as a pin, all
children are well-behaved, and all families are loving and supportive. Well…a
drive through the Missouri countryside in Plain areas will show you that
“stuff” gets piled around some of their homes, some of which could use a coat
of paint. Not everyone can afford upkeep on their buildings—and not everyone
considers it a priority, much the same as in any neighborhood.
And the kids? Well, Katie is three and she loves to run off
the moment Rosemary turns her back. Amish children are indeed more strictly
disciplined than non-Amish kids (they are raised with the same “spare the rod
and spoil the child” attitude I and folks older than I grew up with. So yes,
those kids get spankings and it’s not considered child abuse. It’s good,
preventive parenting.)
Still, little kids will test their limits. Katie drives the
story by being her winsome, curious, playful self, and the way Matt immediately
takes to her—and must sternly insist that she stop running off, because she
could get hurt by his sheep—turns the tide for Rosemary. The fact that he
encourages her to buy a fine new oven for baking her pies is an even bigger
point in his favor.
So I feel I’ve done my research, and I’ve done a credible
job of presenting my Amish characters in all their triumphs, tragedies, and
mistakes. But yes, there are aspects of my stories that are not quite Old Order
Amish because, well—Joe Burkholder said it best. “It’s a novel. Readers will understand that.”
I hope you’ll enjoy ROSEMARY OPENS HER HEART, and check out
the other books on my website, as well. You can also sign up for my newsletter
there, and find recipes, excerpts, and other interesting tidbits! www.NaomiKingAuthor.com. If you care
to, you can Friend me on Facebook as Charlotte Hubbard and Like my Naomi C.
King author page. Thanks so much for your interest in my stories!
