How Parentification Disrupts Your Development and Holds You Back as an Adult

by Torah Bontrager | Sep 10, 2021 | Sexual Assault Survivor Support, Trauma

If you’d like to know how to celebrate the Easter holiday the Amish way, I share my practicing Amish experiences of various aspects, from the Easter bunny to Easter egg hunts to church services, below. (Keep scrolling for the video version of this post.) Good...

Think Secular Is Atheist? How the Christian Right Take Advantage of You

by Torah Bontrager | Sep 5, 2021 | Amish Definitions, Amish Resources

The Amish Heritage Foundation (AHF) is secular, but we get accused by nonpracticing Amish––and others of Amish heritage––of being atheist. The belief is that “secular” equals “atheist”. That’s a completely false equation, perpetuated by...

Amish Recipe Secrets: How to Make My Aunt’s Delicious Blackberry Crisp

by Torah Bontrager | Aug 6, 2021 | Amish Culture

In another post, I shared an excerpt from the chapter “The Cat Knew the Way” in my memoir, Amish Girl in Manhattan. It’s about one of my earliest memories: trekking off to the blackberry patch in the neighbor’s woods when I was 6 years old....

What Is Freedom and Why Is It Important? Here Are 3 Answers

by Torah Bontrager | Aug 4, 2021 | Current Events

What does freedom mean to you? I often ask myself whether I’m really free or not. It’s part of my regular routine in life, like working out and eating healthy (or my constant attempts to do so!). (Keep scrolling for the video version of this post.) When I...

Happy Independence Day? For Whom? 100s of 1000s of Amish American Kids Suffer

by Torah Bontrager | Jul 4, 2021 | Amish Culture, Amish Definitions

Happy Independence Day? For whom? Women, LGBTQIA+, and children still have no rights in the practicing Amish population (~450,000 in the US). They’re denied a long list of their Constitutional rights in the name of extreme religious freedom by the...