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Rob McConnell Interviews - ANNA DEE OLSEN - Growing Up Amish
Join Rob McConnell as he welcomes Anna Dee Olson, author, speaker and former member of an Amish community, for an extraordinarily personal look inside a way of life that remains mysterious to many outsiders. Anna is the author of Growing Up Amish: Insider Secrets from One Woman's Inspirational Journey, in which she recounts the challenges of being raised by Amish parents and ultimately making the life-changing decision to leave the community and build an entirely different future for herself. Anna says the strict expectations of her upbringing became increasingly difficult for her during her teenage years. For approximately four years, she struggled with the decision between remaining within the only culture she had ever known and pursuing the life she wanted outside it. At 24 years old, she finally left the Amish lifestyle, knowing that her decision could profoundly affect her relationships with family and community. She has subsequently spoken publicly about subjects including shunning, Rumspringa, Amish family values, education, religion and the difficulties of adapting to mainstream American society. Leaving meant learning many things most people outside an insular religious community take for granted. Within a year, Anna earned her high-school equivalency diploma, and in 1993 she began pursuing her dream of attending college, eventually earning an Associate of Applied Science degree. She later became an author and public speaker, using her own experiences to help audiences understand Amish culture while discussing forgiveness, personal choice, perseverance and the difficult process of creating a new identity without completely erasing the past. Minnesota's Lake Agassiz Regional Library later hosted a series of her presentations specifically designed to increase public understanding of Amish culture. Join Rob McConnell and Anna Dee Olson on The 'X' Zone Radio Show for an intimate conversation about Amish traditions, faith, family, rules, Rumspringa, shunning and the enormous courage required to leave the only world you've ever known. What happens when personal freedom collides with religious and family expectations? What misconceptions do outsiders have about Amish life? And when leaving your community could mean losing relationships with the people closest to you, how high a price are you willing to pay for the freedom to choose your own path?
