The highly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning national bestseller, I Am Hutterite In I Am Hutterite, Kirkby took her readers on a fascinating journey inside a Hutterite colony in Manitoba, where she grew up. Known as Canada’s forgotten people, Hutterites live in higher numbers in Canada than anywhere else in the world. Drawing back the curtains on this mysterious and extraordinary way of life, Kirkby enchanted the public with a vivid portrait of her people, rich in detail and memorable characters. Could you go back? was the enduring request from her readers, hungry for more. Now in Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen, Kirkby returns to her roots and into the heart of the community and the life she was born into. She traveled from colony to colony for more than two years, working with the women in their kitchens: cooking, baking, plucking ducks, and gossiping. Kirkby reveals intimate details of the community and experiences what her life would have been like if her family hadn’t left the colony when she was a young girl. Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen is a candid snapshot of present-day Hutterite life, unraveling the inner workings of this closed society and unveiling the rituals, traditions, and food of her culture through the lens of the community kitchen. Kirkby witnesses the rites of passage from cradle to grave: births, romantic entanglements, marriage ceremonies, sacred holidays, and other celebrations. Through it all, she rediscovers what she has always known—that it is the Hutterite women who are the soul of their community.

Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen: Unveiling The Rituals Traditions And Food Of The Hutterite Cultu

Biographies & Memoirs

Kirkby, Mary-Ann

Community & Culture

Penguin Canada

In 1969, Ann-Marie’s parents did the unthinkable. They left a Hutterite colony in Canada with seven children, and little else, to start a new life. Overnight, the family was thrust into a society they did not understand and which knew little of their unique culture. The transition was overwhelming. Desperate to be accepted, ten-year-old Ann-Marie was forced to deny her heritage in order to fit in with her peers. 
Winner of the 2007 Saskatchewan Book Award for Non-fiction.
“Your mother and father are running away," said a voice piercing the warm air. I froze and turned toward home. To a Hutterite, nothing is more shameful than that word, running away, Weglaufen...”
In 1969, Ann-Marie’s parents did the unthinkable. They left a Hutterite colony in Canada with seven children, and little else, to start a new life. Overnight, the family was thrust into a society they did not understand and which knew little of their unique culture. The transition was overwhelming. Desperate to be accepted, ten-year-old Ann-Marie was forced to deny her heritage in order to fit in with her peers. I Am Hutterite chronicles her quest to reinvent herself as she comes to terms with the painful circumstances that led her family to leave community life. Rich with memorable characters and vivid descriptions, this ground-breaking narrative shines a light on intolerance, illuminating the simple truth that beneath every human exterior beats a heart longing for understanding and acceptance.

I Am Hutterite: The Fascinating True Story of a Young Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Heritage

Thomas Nelson

“Your mother and father are running away," said a voice piercing the warm air. I froze and turned toward home. To a Hutterite, nothing is more shameful than that word, running away,Weglaufen...”
In 1969, Ann-Marie’s parents did the unthinkable. They left a Hutterite colony in Canada with seven children, and little else, to start a new life. Overnight, the family was thrust into a society they did not understand and which knew little of their unique culture. The transition was overwhelming. Desperate to be accepted, ten-year-old Ann-Marie was forced to deny her heritage in order to fit in with her peers. I Am Hutterite chronicles her quest to reinvent herself as she comes to terms with the painful circumstances that led her family to leave community life. Rich with memorable characters and vivid descriptions, this ground-breaking narrative shines a light on intolerance, illuminating the simple truth that beneath every human exterior beats a heart longing for understanding and acceptance.
“A superb memoir . . . this has the makings of a prairie classic.”
--AWARD JURY, SASK BOOK AWARDS
“Honest, strong, clear, direct, it opens the door on what has been for so many of us a completely closed world.”
--WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Thomas Nelson. Inc.

I am Hutterite

I Am Hutterite

Leaders & Notable People

Polka Dot Press

Shares how the author's life changed after her parents decided to leave their strict Hutterite community and she discovered an outside world that contained processed food, Walt Disney, and bicycles.

Thomas Nelson Audio

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kirkby, Mary-Ann. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Kirkby, Mary-Ann

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kirkby, Mary-Ann. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen: Unveiling The Rituals Traditions And Food Of The Hutterite Cultu

I Am Hutterite: The Fascinating True Story of a Young Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Heritage

I Am Hutterite: The Fascinating True Story of a Young Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Heritage

I Am Hutterite

I Am Hutterite: The Fascinating True Story of a Young Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Heritage