Wunderlust Out of Holmes County

       Book Contents

​

I grew up as an Amish boy who was “a little different” then the other boys I grew up with. My intense curiosity about life and the world led me to a career that was profoundly non-Amish. I left the Amish community initially to do my obligatory two-year work experience at a large hospital as a conscientious objector. There, educational opportunities emerged that led all the way to a doctorate degree in human anatomy. My subsequent academic career was permeated with the Christian Faith and a few items of “Amish baggage” that I chose to retain.

In this book, I will tell you about some of my growing-up experience in the Amish community and about my educational pursuits. Then I will tell you about the joys and challenges of living and working in Nigeria and the adjustments needed to successfully teach anatomy to Nigerian medical students. Later in life, I learned that my Amish farming experience was of little value while working with farmers in the tropical mountains of Laos. Living and working in Kansas City and in eastern Kentucky brought more joys, opportunities and challenges. Retirement confirmed that “you cannot take the country out of the boy,” because now it’s back to country living and a little hobby farming.