Torah’s story and work have been featured or appeared in:









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Amish Girl in Manhattan
“Today would be a good day to die.”
One evening when I was fourteen, I walked back from target practice in our field. The sun was setting and I paused for a moment on a little knoll below the house to enjoy the view. My shooting session had gone well.
Suddenly a thought struck me: today would be a good day to die.
I put a bullet in the chamber and raised the rifle.
But I was so miserable being trapped in the Amish Church and in an abusive home that I believed God would understand and let me get into heaven.


Available in paperback, ebook and audiobook
What Tim Ferriss said when he interviewed Torah:
“For those of you who feel trapped because of a job or self-imposed obligations as an entrepreneur, [Torah’s story] will put things in perspective.
“How do you escape your environment if you’re unable to control it? If almost no one on the outside realizes what’s happening?”
Torah Bontrager is 11 when she decides to leave the Amish.
After four years of planning her escape, she flees in the middle of the night with only the clothes on her back and $170 in her pocket.
Her departure is permanent.
This book is to let you know that you don’t have to be extraordinary to be Extraordinary.
– Torah Bontrager
Amish Girl in Manhattan (a true crime memoir)

Curious about Amish life?
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Amish Girl’s Amish Insider
Depressed by New Year’s Resolutions? Here’s How to Be Successful in 2022
Instead of a word that would magically bring us success, Lisa and I made a pact that we’d hold each other accountable.
Amish New Year’s Traditions: How We Celebrate (It’s Not With Food)
Watching the ball drop. New Year’s resolutions. Word of the year. Good luck food. None of those things are Amish tradition.
When PTSD Overwhelms You, What’s the Solution? How Ketamine Saves My Life
This is Tool #5 out of 5. On a cold, overcast January morning, I got off the train and walked into a ketamine clinic in Lower Manhattan. My expectations were low. So low, in fact, that I was getting the treatment just to cross it off my list as another thing that didn’t work.
Torah’s story has been featured here:
1. Tim Ferriss‘ blog. Interview by New York Times & Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek, etc. “Escaping the Amish (Parts 1 & 2)”
4. MTV’s award-winning True Life documentary series. Episode “I’m Ex Amish”.
MTV’s True Life. “I’m Ex Amish” update (my story made the BRAVE category for the entire span of True Life’s 16-year history at the time).
5. Unconventional Life Podcast by Jules Schroeder. Hosted on the Forbes Under 30 Channel. Episode 34: From Amish-Escapee to Author: How to Powerfully Leverage Your Personal Story
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