 | Plain? Yes. Simple? Well… If you live in a conservative Mennonite community, edges are sewn shut and questions have answers. So if you’ve got a saucy tongue and a roving curiosity about the world, you’ve got a story to tell. As a schoolteacher in a small Mennonite school in rural Wisconsin, Lucinda J. Miller wears long dresses and a prayer covering. But she uses a cell phone and posts status updates on Facebook. So why would a young woman with access to all these technologies remain in a sheltered community like the Plain Mennonites? How can someone with an eye for beauty and a sometimes sardonic wit stay within a tradition that values discipline and submission and uniformity? Anything But Simple is the stirring memoir of a young woman’s rich church tradition, lively family life, and longing for a meaningful future within her Mennonite faith. |
Genre: Memoir
Release date: July 25, 2017
Release date: July 25, 2017
Click here to get your copy!
My Review
Wonder what it's like to be Mennonite?
Like many people I would suspect, my interest in the Plain people, specifically Amish and Mennonite stemmed from one too many Beverly Lewis novels devoured from the public library shelves. Since then my interest has shifted more towards what they themselves have to say. When I picked up a book from the library about Hutterites in my home state, written by a Hutterite woman, it was one of the most fascinating books that I read that year. So when I saw the title Anything But Simple: My Life As A Mennonite and read the back cover blurb it went right up my TBR stack.
Relatively short and easy to read, Lucinda J. Miller's words are refreshingly honest. And what I found amazing was how easy it was to relate to her. Even though I'm a jeans wearing girl who only covers her hair when winter is at its coldest I could understand many of her struggles. Trust me, no matter the denomination, if you were raised in church you will totally get it. The struggle to measure up to what seems to be impossibly high standards and still be yourself, the internal battle when new ideas and new perspectives are introduced, the questions and doubts, the feeling of not always fitting in, and the journey to find your place and your own faith and not just that of your parents and the people who have always surrounded you. I doubt there is a single person who was raised in church who hasn't been confronted by someone they like or trust with questions, sometimes quite hostile, that challenge your beliefs and leave you feeling jangled and grasping for an answer. What it all boils down to is exactly as Lucinda J. Miller says in the title of the book, it's Anything But Simple.
While I haven't dealt with all of the same doubts, insecurities, and pressures that Lucinda J. Miller has, her words still resonated with me. Maybe it's one Millennial to another or just one girl raised in a quirky faith-filled home to another girl also raised in a quirky family of faith. Whatever it is, Anything But Simple: My Life As A Mennonite was interesting, eye-opening, and most definitely worth the time taken to read...
Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Anything But Simple: My Life As A Mennonite by Lucinda J. Miller a 4 Bark rating.
Like many people I would suspect, my interest in the Plain people, specifically Amish and Mennonite stemmed from one too many Beverly Lewis novels devoured from the public library shelves. Since then my interest has shifted more towards what they themselves have to say. When I picked up a book from the library about Hutterites in my home state, written by a Hutterite woman, it was one of the most fascinating books that I read that year. So when I saw the title Anything But Simple: My Life As A Mennonite and read the back cover blurb it went right up my TBR stack.
Relatively short and easy to read, Lucinda J. Miller's words are refreshingly honest. And what I found amazing was how easy it was to relate to her. Even though I'm a jeans wearing girl who only covers her hair when winter is at its coldest I could understand many of her struggles. Trust me, no matter the denomination, if you were raised in church you will totally get it. The struggle to measure up to what seems to be impossibly high standards and still be yourself, the internal battle when new ideas and new perspectives are introduced, the questions and doubts, the feeling of not always fitting in, and the journey to find your place and your own faith and not just that of your parents and the people who have always surrounded you. I doubt there is a single person who was raised in church who hasn't been confronted by someone they like or trust with questions, sometimes quite hostile, that challenge your beliefs and leave you feeling jangled and grasping for an answer. What it all boils down to is exactly as Lucinda J. Miller says in the title of the book, it's Anything But Simple.
While I haven't dealt with all of the same doubts, insecurities, and pressures that Lucinda J. Miller has, her words still resonated with me. Maybe it's one Millennial to another or just one girl raised in a quirky faith-filled home to another girl also raised in a quirky family of faith. Whatever it is, Anything But Simple: My Life As A Mennonite was interesting, eye-opening, and most definitely worth the time taken to read...
Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Anything But Simple: My Life As A Mennonite by Lucinda J. Miller a 4 Bark rating.
(I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)
More from Lucinda
Me, and The People Who Shaped Me
My dad used to say that every person in your life is placed there by God for a reason. Even the ones you don’t like are there to teach you something.
Learn.
If you don’t, God may send someone else to teach you the same lesson you couldn’t learn the first time around.
Anything But Simple is my story, the story of a shy little Mennonite girl growing up to be a writer and asking questions along the way. It is also the story of the many people who enriched my life.
My dad, with his black hair and handsome face and stories from his past.
My mom, with her smooth sweaters and her sure and solid love.
My bishop with his mouth that turned down like a turtle’s.
My creative writing professor who loved words in a way I had never seen in anyone but myself.
Charlene.
Mara.
Deqo.
Jake.
From these people and alongside these people I arose, breathing, questioning, earnest.
Our journey, like the journey of all the squiggly and intricate humans that wander the face of the earth, is anything but simple.
Learn.
If you don’t, God may send someone else to teach you the same lesson you couldn’t learn the first time around.
Anything But Simple is my story, the story of a shy little Mennonite girl growing up to be a writer and asking questions along the way. It is also the story of the many people who enriched my life.
My dad, with his black hair and handsome face and stories from his past.
My mom, with her smooth sweaters and her sure and solid love.
My bishop with his mouth that turned down like a turtle’s.
My creative writing professor who loved words in a way I had never seen in anyone but myself.
Charlene.
Mara.
Deqo.
Jake.
From these people and alongside these people I arose, breathing, questioning, earnest.
Our journey, like the journey of all the squiggly and intricate humans that wander the face of the earth, is anything but simple.
Lucinda J Miller Kinsinger has always viewed herself as a shy little Mennonite girl, but refuses
to let that stop her from pursuing what she loves—whether that’s writing with honesty and
vulnerability or traveling to a remote village in China. In 2019, she married Ivan, the love of her life,
and moved from the flat, tree-lined fields of her childhood home in Wisconsin to the rolling hills of
Garrett County, Maryland. The couple has a baby daughter, Annalise. Since the publication of
Anything but Simple, Lucinda has published a second memoir, Turtle Heart: Unlikely Friends with a
Life-Changing Bond. She is columnist for Anabaptist World and blogs at lucindajkinsinger.com.
to let that stop her from pursuing what she loves—whether that’s writing with honesty and
vulnerability or traveling to a remote village in China. In 2019, she married Ivan, the love of her life,
and moved from the flat, tree-lined fields of her childhood home in Wisconsin to the rolling hills of
Garrett County, Maryland. The couple has a baby daughter, Annalise. Since the publication of
Anything but Simple, Lucinda has published a second memoir, Turtle Heart: Unlikely Friends with a
Life-Changing Bond. She is columnist for Anabaptist World and blogs at lucindajkinsinger.com.
It's Time For A Giveaway!
To celebrate her tour, Lucinda is giving away the grand prize package of
a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!
Blog Stops
Texas Book-aholic, April 2
A Reader’s Brain, April 3
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 3
Inklings and notions, April 4
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, April 5
All-of-a-kind Mom, April 5
She Lives To Read, April 6
deb’s Book Review, April 7
A Melodious Sonnet, April 7
Locks, Hooks and Books, April 8
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 9
Tell Tale Book Reviews, April 10
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, April 10
The Avid Reader, April 11
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 11
Rebecca Tews, April 12
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 12
Sodbuster Living, April 13
Boondock Ramblings, April 13
Vicky Sluiter, April 14
For Him and My Family, April 14
Spoken from the Heart, April 15
A Reader’s Brain, April 3
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 3
Inklings and notions, April 4
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, April 5
All-of-a-kind Mom, April 5
She Lives To Read, April 6
deb’s Book Review, April 7
A Melodious Sonnet, April 7
Locks, Hooks and Books, April 8
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 9
Tell Tale Book Reviews, April 10
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, April 10
The Avid Reader, April 11
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 11
Rebecca Tews, April 12
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 12
Sodbuster Living, April 13
Boondock Ramblings, April 13
Vicky Sluiter, April 14
For Him and My Family, April 14
Spoken from the Heart, April 15
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