Tears of the Silenced by Misty Griffin

Tears of the Silenced:A True Crime and an American Tragedy; Severe Child Abuse and Leaving the Amish by Misty Griffin
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

A fabricated tabloid like story passing as a biography. Yes, child abuse does happen in Amish communities like it does in the world at large, trust me. HOWEVER using a sad aspect of humanity to sell books for your own gain not only takes away the attention and support for those who are abused but only make people less likely to believe those in Amish communities who come forward looking for help.

From her claims to have a GED but yet failed the math section (Trust me, GED testing doesn't allow for failure in ANY aspect and yet still give GED certifications) to claims of black magic to curse people's buggies, everything is suspect. Even the inner workings of everyday Amish life are wrong in the details. Bishops are chosen by blind lot, not chosen or elected to a position, for example. SHe claims to have been adopted in to her community but adoption from the outside isn't something that Swartzentruber Amish do, ever. The beatings she claims to have endured, including heavy whippings from a thick strap belt multiple times a day for days on end, would have easily killed an adult let alone a small child.

I don't doubt that the author might have been abused in some way, at some point, in her Amish community (assuming she even WAS part of a community). But if that's the case then it's been spun in to a ridiculously farcical sensationalist tale for her own gain and all that does is make it MUCH harder for those going through abuse to get the credibility they need in order to find a way out.

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