Books by Susie

Plain English

When Susie Fisher left the Amish church at age 20, she realized that being shunned was just the beginning and that culture shock was an equal-opportunity wench that impacted every aspect of her new life.

How could she make the leap from schooling that had been cut off at age 14 to a college education? How could she cope with Corporate America, where she found conformity that felt eerily like what she had left behind? Could she survive the romantic entanglements that were the result of her unsophisticated choices? Worst of all, how could she have known that the very churches she had so looked forward to attending would be rife with wolves in sheep's clothing?

The freedom to choose one's own path sounds glorious, but as Susie describes, there are pitfalls, and laughter, aplenty…

The Boy Who Lived On Oatmeal Street

Does anyone really like plain oatmeal? Sammy and his dog, Leroy, sure didn't. And why should they? No brown sugar. No raisins. Just boring oatmeal! And, unfortunately, that was the only breakfast they had, every morning. And since Sammy's nana liked knitting better than children, she was no help either.

One day Sammy and Leroy decided to discover what the neighbours were having for breakfast. And oh, what a revelation that was! Frosted Flakes! Eggs and Bacon! And then, to Sammy and Leroy's utter horror: another house where oatmeal was served. But what a difference! There were so many exciting additions that the oatmeal was barely recognizable!

When Sammy grew up, that bowl of oatmeal-turned-delicious inspired him to become a breakfast chef, which goes to show that any idea, no matter how dreadful, can be turned into something exciting if one just uses a little imagination.

Reviews of Plain English

  • "A very gifted writer. An autobiography about one woman's journey from an Amish girlhood to a full and interesting life in the "English" world with what can only be described as adventures, some solemn, some madcap, in between. Heart touching, thought provoking and funny. The writer is a marvelous storyteller. Could hardly wait to get back to it whenever I had to put it down. Would be interested in anything else this author might publish."

    - Katrina Mount

  • "Plain English tells the true story of a young girl's coming of age while at the same time, launching herself into a world so foreign and frightening, she could be said to have been exposed, for the first time, to sunlight. Not that her previous experience growing up in an Amish community was especially dark; it was just so completely different and apart from the world she would discover, on her own, with her own insistence on authenticity. With prose that is trenchant, sometimes lyrical, sometimes ironic and wildly funny, Fisher tells a tale true to the book's title, in plain English, that every young woman in the process of becoming should read."

    - Robert Bausch

  • "A poignant, searingly honest account of growing up as a child of Amish parents. Fisher stays true to herself and pays a high cost. Her approachable writing style welcomed the reader to her slice of human experience."

    - Almond Joy