He made a concerted effort to tell his story with fairness, and yet still bring out the strong emotional elements of each situation he describes. He is satisfied with the results in his book and feels the story is told with a balance of both the difficult and positive aspects of growing up Amish. All three incidents had a profound impact on his life and carries emotional memories he will always retain. There are three particular sections of his book he found difficult to write, but are powerful elements of his personal journey: his older brother’s accident, his younger brother’s leave-taking from home, and his relationship with an Amish young lady. One of the most surprising aspects of being published, Ira states, is the “absolute professionalism of Tyndale House.” He is especially grateful to his editor, Carol Traver, who was able to keep Ira’s writing voice intact, while offering edits that made his story stronger. Ira acknowledges that “having the right people around me, helped me be published.” He feels he received his gift of writing from his father, who was a contributing writer to the Amish magazine, Family Life, but he feels his sensitive heart comes from his mother. He later went to law school and earned his law degree. He earned a degree in English, but his inspiration for writing comes from reading classic books from authors such as Thomas Wolf. Ira is no stranger to literature and writing. One thing led to another, and he was offered a contract.

Over the course of time, his writings were noticed by a friend which led to a meeting with an editor at Tyndale House Publishers. In a recent phone interview with me, Ira shared he was compelled to write about his growing up years as an Amish young man when his “world imploded” in 2007. The result, his book: Growing Up Amish: A Memoir.

He always knew he had a desire and ability to write his personal story, but even he was happily surprised with how his book came to be published. Ira Wagler, like many former Amish, had a story to tell about his journey with his heritage.

Irawagler