In many ways, Irene Garrettís story is a lesson for us all. This compelling non-fiction story, penned by award-winning Journal Gazette editor Rick Farrant, is especially apt in a day when the whole world is being torn apart by religious differences. In the opening pages of Crossing Over, Irene writes about her reasons for telling her story.

ì ... I am trying to foster a better understanding among all Christians and non-Christians, that we may learn how to unite under Godís mercy.î

Ireneís story is told in first person, giving the reader a true depth of how she felt and what she went through in her agonizing decision to leave her Old Order Amish family in Iowa for the man she loved, Ottie Garrett. Much older than Irene, Ottie was an outsider himself. A boisterous man, he was radically different from the Amish who employed him. A disability kept him sidelined from his own world, while his past and mannerisms set him apart from the Amish. With Irene straddling two existences herself, he found his perfect match. Their devotion and commitment to each other are at the heart of their story.

The book sprang from an interview. The Garretts, with help from students at Western Kentucky University, had compiled a self-published book called True Stories of the X-Amish. The book left out one of the most important stories ó Irene and Ottieís. When Farrant interviewed the couple for their book signing in Fort Wayne, he proposed the idea of writing their story. The Garretts agreed. What followed was an eight-month journey into the Amish world, giving Farrant a gift beyond the book ó a friendship. The three of them talk to each other frequently and each mentions the otherís family in their ending chapters.

Farrant did online, book and in-person research for the book. ìI learned an awful lot about the Old Order Amish beyond the postcard depictions of a serene, simple lifestyle filled with decent family values, great cooking and prowess with quilts and furniture. In most families ó and Ireneís is one of them ó life is based on daily deeds and strict punishment. There is little room for compromise and virtually no room for forgiveness.î

Although non-fiction, Crossing Over was as suspenseful as any mystery novel. I read it in one day, intrigued from the first page by Ireneís story and her struggle to merge her independent spirit with the restrictions of the life she led. Her leaving the Amish community was not an easy decision and I agonized over her options right along with her. I marveled at Ireneís strength, at her commitment to her independence and her husband. Her achievements in the ìEnglishî world are something to be lauded, as she gives every woman struggling to find an identity something to aspire to.

Farrant says he learned a great deal from the writing process himself. ìWriting a book sounds so monumental; it can have the effect of preventing a person from trying,î says the editor who always aspired to write books. ìBut I came to this conclusion: If you can write, if you have passionate interest in the subject matter and if the story is a good one, the journey is a rich one and the task not so difficult at all.î

Farrantís writing is much like his newspaper style ó quick, easy to read, spare on minutiae, yet layered in emotional meaning and strength. Itís the perfect blend for Ireneís story because it captures both the restraint of her Amish upbringing and the anxious bird eager to be part of the English world.