Details

Subject(s)

• Fisher, Sarah—Diaries [Browse]
• Amish—Iowa—Kalona Region—Diaries [Browse]
• Amish women—Iowa—Kalona Region—Diaries [Browse]
• Kalona Region (Iowa)—Social life and customs [Browse]

Related name

• Fisher, Sarah [Browse]

Library of Congress genre(s)

• Diaries [Browse]

Series

• Bur oak original [More in this series]
• A Bur oak original

Summary note

Sarah Fisher's brief daily notations, recorded on a calendar throughout 1976 and 1977, reveal an ongoing account of her seasonal routine. In many ways the straightforward simplicity of her writing is a reflection of her life near rural Kalona, Iowa, a life filled with what Martha Davis calls look-easy tasks undertaken without the conveniences of electricity, phones, or automobiles. For Sarah, diaries are a record. "A diary can settle a question, a disagreement," she tells Martha. "You look back and see what took place. That's history." Through their conversations, Martha soon discovered she had more in common with Sarah than diary writing. Though Davis lived in mainstream culture, an "English" person as the Amish say, like Sarah she grew up on a farm in rural Iowa during the 1950s and 1960s. Like Martha, Sarah had spent several years as a teacher. In Sarah's Seasons Martha Davis shares their common experiences and common interests - gardening, quilting, and cooking. Alongside Sarah's diary, Martha presents their shared recipes and conversations as well as reflections on her own more modern existence. Because of her friendship with Sarah, the author found a new sense of belonging to and purpose in the mainstream world. In the end, Sarah's diary becomes for Martha a meditation on time and community.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references (page 181).

Reproduction note

Electronic reproduction. New York Available via World Wide Web.

System details

Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002.

Source of description

Print version record.

ISBN

• 1587290448 ((electronic bk.))
• 9781587290442 ((electronic bk.))

Statement on language in description

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