Growing Up Amish

About Anna Dee Olson

Today life is very different for me.  I live in a small community in northwestern Minnesota with my husband and two children.  Currently I have a full time job to help my husband support our lifestyle.  I really enjoy spending time with our children, camping, biking, and walking.  Other hobbies I will engage in when possible is knitting and crocheting, sewing, gardening and canning, and volunteering my time to help out in our church and local community. 

Although we live with all the modern conveniences that America has to offer today, I also implement as much of the simple lifestyle as possible.  I always have plenty of canned goods stored away.  Every summer at strawberry harvest time I will make enough jam for another year.  I love preparing food for my family just as I did while growing up.  The only difference today is that I only prepare food for four people instead of twelve.  I had to learn to prepare small amounts of food.

My greatest passion is to share my experiences to help others.  I have spoken to thousands of people of all ages.  Many questions have come my way and I have had to do research to get some of the answers because it wasn’t something that was talked about in my childhood home or community.  For example:  Someone asked me “What nationality are you?”  I was not sure until I did some research and finally had a chance to talk to my father about it.  Then I found out I is not German…..I am Dutch and Swiss.  Most people would guess the Amish to be of German descent and some probably are but not in our family. 

I have developed a home-study course and personal coaching program to assist people in using the tips and strategies that I implemented to overcome my obstacles. I asked myself this question many times: “Where do I belong and why am I here on earth?” and I am sure many still do.  Because of my experiences I now understand and these programs are designed to help you define this question.

I am also writing my next book where I will be talking about the transition years and what kind of mindset it took for me to go against every belief, understanding, and right thing I had ever known so I could live the lifestyle I had dreamed of. 

All of this information is available from her website at www.GrowingUpAmish.com