Help with healing

I Am Hutterite Mary-Ann Kirkby. Polka Dot Press, 2007. 194 pages.

This is the true story of a young girl who, with her family, left a Hutterite colony at age nine and was suddenly faced with a strange new world. Kirkby tells her story devoid of any trace of bitterness, but rather with a sense of humour and with the ability to laugh at herself and her people. Without moralizing, she emphasizes “the value of courage, the importance of faith and the power of forgiveness.”

The work is deeply moving. Like Kirkby, I too faced a similar identity crisis at the same age when my family immigrated to Canada from a small village in Paraguay. In the foreword, writer and broadcaster Arvel Gray expresses the catharsis I experienced: “[Kirkby’s] achingly poignant narrative is a balm to anyone who has faced ridicule and rejection, underscoring that who we are comes not from the clothes we wear or the songs we sing or the company we keep, but from a place deep within our souls.”

Kirkby, now a television reporter and journalist, said that confronting her own fears and doubts in this book was difficult and demanding. However, she added, “if the journey I have taken helps people embrace their own heritage and adds to the healing process so necessary in our society, it makes the seven years I spent bringing the book to life so worthwhile.” Photographs of the author’s family and friends enhance the volume.

Those who read this account will most certainly gain an appreciation for the history, tradition, and lifestyle of the Hutterites.

Elfrieda Schroeder has a PhD in German language and literature, is a deacon at Kitchener MB Church, and worked in africa in bible translation for 20 years with her husband.