A journalist writes about his surprising friendship with an Amish family trying to live a simple life in a complex world

Plain Secrets tells the story of Joe Mackall's Swartzentruber Amish neighbors, the Shetlers, using their lives to paint a nuanced portrait of this most traditional Amish sect.

Mackall does the job beautifully, painting an intimate portrait of the family that leaves the reader feeling humbled by the common thread that's woven into all of us.

--Sarah English, Cleveland Magazine

Prose as graceful as it is unsentimental . . . Mackall doesn't sensationalize, romanticize, or condescend.

--Brigid Brett, Los Angeles Times

The book points to a difficult truth: A religious community is bound to be freed. Mackall explores this paradox with rare honesty and insight . . . and] achieves what he promises.

--Tom Montgomery-Fate, Boston Globe

Mackall describes the details of family, farming and church life with sympathy, accuracy and good will . . . His particularistic description of one family is a welcome addition to what has often been a sociological literature.

--Levi Miller, Christian Century

Journalist Mackall writes about his surprising friendship with an Amish family trying to live a simple life in a complex world.

Plain Secrets tells the story of Joe Mackall’s long friendship with his Swartzentruber Amish neighbors, the Shetlers, to create a nuanced portrait of this most traditional Amish sect.

“Mackall does the job beautifully, painting an intimate portrait of the family that leaves the reader feeling humbled by the common thread that’s woven into all of us.” —Sarah English, Cleveland Magazine

"Prose as graceful as it is unsentimental . . . Mackall doesn't sensationalize, romanticize, or condescend." —Brigid Brett, Los Angeles Times

"The book points to a difficult truth: A religious community is bound to be freed. Mackall explores this paradox with rare honesty and insight . . . [and] achieves what he promises." —Tom Montgomery-Fate, Boston Globe

"Mackall describes the details of family, farming and church life with sympathy, accuracy and good will . . . His particularistic description of one family is a welcome addition to what has often been a sociological literature." —Levi Miller, Christian Century

Joe Mackall is author of The Last Street Before Cleveland. A professor of English and journalism at Ashland University, he is coeditor of the journal River Teeth and has written for NPR's Morning Edition, the Washington Post, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, among other publications. He lives near Cleveland, Ohio.