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I don’t often stray from “novels”, but I’m glad I did otherwise I would never have come across this little gem. “Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy” revolves around the horrific shooting of 10 Amish schoolgirls at Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, in October 2006 and how the Amish community reacted to the shooting by almost immediately forgiving the shooter and supporting his family…
Here is a pretty good description of the book taken from Amazon:
On Monday morning, October 2, 2006, a gunman entered a one-room Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. In front of twenty-five horrified pupils, thirty-two-year-old Charles Roberts ordered the boys and the teacher to leave. After tying the legs of the ten remaining girls, Roberts prepared to shoot them execution with an automatic rifle and four hundred rounds of ammunition that he brought for the task. The oldest hostage, a thirteen-year-old, begged Roberts to “shoot me first and let the little ones go.” Refusing her offer, he opened fire on all of them, killing five and leaving the others critically wounded. He then shot himself as police stormed the building. His motivation? “I’m angry at God for taking my little daughter,” he told the children before the massacre.The story captured the attention of broadcast and print media in the United States and around the world. By Tuesday morning some fifty television crews had clogged the small village of Nickel Mines, staying for five days until the killer and the killed were buried. The blood was barely dry on the schoolhouse floor when Amish parents brought words of forgiveness to the family of the one who had slain their children.
The outside world was incredulous that such forgiveness could be offered so quickly for such a heinous crime. Of the hundreds of media queries that the authors received about the shooting, questions about forgiveness rose to the top. Forgiveness, in fact, eclipsed the tragic story, trumping the violence and arresting the world’s attention.
Within a week of the murders, Amish forgiveness was a central theme in more than 2,400 news stories around the world. The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, NBC Nightly News, CBS Morning News, Larry King Live, Fox News, Oprah, and dozens of other media outlets heralded the forgiving Amish. From the Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates) to Australian television, international media were opining on Amish forgiveness. Three weeks after the shooting, “Amish forgiveness” had appeared in 2,900 news stories worldwide and on 534,000 web sites.
Fresh from the funerals where they had buried their own children, grieving Amish families accounted for half of the seventy-five people who attended the killer’s burial. Roberts’ widow was deeply moved by their presence as Amish families greeted her and her three children. The forgiveness went beyond talk and graveside presence: the Amish also supported a fund for the shooter’s family.
AMISH GRACE explores the many questions this story raises about the religious beliefs and habits that led the Amish to forgive so quickly. It looks at the ties between forgiveness and membership in a cloistered communal society and ask if Amish practices parallel or diverge from other religious and secular notions of forgiveness. It will also address the matter of why forgiveness became news. “All the religions teach it,” mused an observer, “but no one does it like the Amish.” Regardless of the cultural seedbed that nourished this story, the surprising act of Amish forgiveness begs for a deeper exploration. How could the Amish do this? What did this act mean to them? And how might their witness prove useful to the rest of us?
The Lifetime Movie Network also released a film adaption last year (2010) starring Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Tammy Blanchard and Matt Letscher. The movie received many positive reviews, however, it also received criticism because the authors of “Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy” distanced themselves from the production out of respect to the Amish community. Compared to the book the movie is pretty good but obviously is not able to explain the reasoning behind forgiveness as easily as the book can. The movie covers more of the “story” whereas the book has more of a “documentary” feel to it. All in all – wow!! What a powerful message!! If you are like me and have a “fascination” with the Amish, or even if you are puzzled as to why the Amish are able to forgive so easily then this is definitely a must read!!
If I had bought my iPad from a local importer then I’d probably be kicking myself about now. Fortunately I bought mine on a trip abroad and thus paid less than Core’s price (not much less though). Guess the only question now for newbies interested in getting an iPad is: do you buy the current model (at a decent price) or wait for the next gen believed to be launching soon… I can’t answer that – probably depends on how desperate you are to have one 
In case it has slipped your mind – “Spud” was officially released in cinemas on Friday 3 December (in South African cinemas that is)… 
So, you’ve been wondering how to get your grubby little hands on some tickets to one of the “Spud” premieres?? MTN has been generous enough to give some tickets away in an awesome little competition they’re running 
“Spud” is actually getting a premier!! Awesome!! 
Those of you that have read “
As mentioned in one of my 
Wow!! That was fast!! Visitors to 
