Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Book Review: I Am Hutterite, by Mary-Ann Kirkby

About Mary-Ann

Mary-Ann Kirkby is an award-winning author, whose first book, I Am Hutterite chronicles her childhood experiences of life on a Hutterite colony and the aftermath of leaving community life.


A former journalist, she began her career in Dauphin, Manitoba as a news anchor and reporter and later was appointed senior reporter responsible for aboriginal issues at CTV in Prince Albert. From 1993-1996, she worked in Ottawa as a freelance journalist and served as Media Relations Consultant for the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.


She is the recipient of two Can-Pro Awards for political reporting and for hosting a children's program. --Polka Dot Press


More information on Mary-Ann can be found on the Polka Dot Press web site!

Do you ever wonder about different religions?  Not just Baptists, Catholics, etc but truly different religions?  We tend to hear a lot about the Amish, some about the Mennonites but what about the Hutterites?  Until now, all I knew about them was a vague comment made by my mom about some family that had been Hutterite, so I was very pleased to be given the opportunity to review this book and learn more.

I most religions people tend to go to Church now and then, some people more faithfully than others, but how many people do you know that truly LIVE their religion, it's a way of life.  Meet the Hutterite's and Mary-Ann Kirkby!

Mary-Ann Kirkby writes a true story about her life, a story of a journey from one way of life to another.  Mary-Ann was born into the Hutterite colony in Manitoba, Canada where she had many friends and a quiet, simple way of life.  Each person within the colony had specific duties and never once did the families face hunger or a lack of belonging.  The challenge was when Mary-Ann's father did not always see eye to eye with his brother-in-law,  several emergencies came and went with Mary-Ann's father begging for the use of a car, one thing led to another and a life changing decision was made.

As Mary-Ann's family left the colony they embarked on a journey into a life they had never lived, how would they survive, make new friends, will they keep their old ways or turn English?  This book takes you through Mary-Ann's childhood and into her adult life and as you read her story you will be amazed at the life she has lived, this is a beautiful story about acceptance and love.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”


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1 comment:

  1. This memoir on the communal lifestyle that she was raised in sounds really interesting. I didn’t know much about the Hutterite way of life until I read your post … actually I never heard of this group. I found out that this faith was born in the sixteenth century and they adopted their belief after the second book of Acts.

    And all the believed were together, and had all things in common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had needed. Acts 2:44-45

    It appears that during the WWI the Hutterite communities moved to Canada to avoid persecution as conscientious objectors. This would be the reason that Canada has a large population of Hutterite communities.

    Thanks for posting this review I have added this book to my book list.

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