Overview

When Lizzy Hershberger turns fourteen, her schooling ends at eighth grade, and she has no choice but to leave home to work as an unpaid maid for another family. To avoid being rejected by her ultra-conservative Swartzentruber Amish family and community, Lizzy is forced to abandon her dreams because they are ""too worldly."" After being raped by a man who becomes a deacon in her community, Lizzy makes her first attempt at ""jumping the fence"" to pursue a non-Amish lifestyle. But without any modern life experience or education, Lizzy considers whether the risks of this unpredictable and dangerous world are worth losing the ties to her Amish friends and family forever. Almost thirty years later, after she has created a new life for herself, her small community is rocked by disturbing sexual assault allegations. Lizzy must decide whether to keep silent for her newly-created family's sake or come forward against the church to advocate for the Amish children she left behind. In 2019, Lizzy Hershberger successfully brought her abuser to justice in an extraordinarily rare case addressing sexual abuse in the Amish church. She faced death threats and intense pressure to stop telling her story. Lizzy refused to back down, and she forged ahead to spark a national movement bringing awareness to the prevalence of sexual assault in isolated communities protected by religious liberties. This gripping true crime memoir reveals the truth behind one of America's most revered and secretive religious sects-hidden behind the blue curtains of the Amish lifestyle.

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9781962890052

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Lizzy Hershberger was raised by ultra-conservative Swartzentruber Amish in Minnesota. After coming forward about systemic abuse in her church, Lizzy became recognized as an expert on Amish culture, as well as an advocate, panelist, speaker, and Amish language interpreter, for victims of abuse. She is the co-founder of Voices of Hope, a national support network helping women to find their own voice. She volunteers with groups like Victim Services, and other groups working to improve the lives of women and children. Before running away, also known as ""jumping the fence,"" Lizzy was a hired girl for local families and a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse. After giving up everything she grew up with, she got married and became a mother to four children, served as a school board member and as president of her children's 4-H Club, and she became a co-founder of a support group for parents. In 2018, she testified as an expert witness on the Amish for a wastewater case that resulted in substantial environmental improvements. Lizzy's story has been featured in Cosmopolitan, Rochester Woman, and other multimedia platforms and podcasts. Molly Maeve Eagan was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She began her writing career as a crime reporter, and her unique ability to connect with interview subjects turned her into an award-winning investigative journalist. As a sexual assault survivor, she spent years in recovery before dedicating herself to helping other survivors find their voices and tell their stories. Molly is a writer, editor, and organizer, advocating for diverse groups of survivors from isolated religious communities to Hollywood casting couches.

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