Using family photos, records, recollections, and historical research, Gundy follows seven generations through time and space: from Bavaria and Alsace to Ohio to Illinois in the 1830s; from frontier dwellings with dirt floors to homes with refrigerators. He also follows them intellectually, from a strict to a broader interpretation of religious doctrine in the 1870s, which led to a schism within the already small Mennonite community; from a longstanding position on pacifism and conscientious objection to some questioning of this stance during World War II.

The first book-length treatment of the flowering of American Mennonite writing of the last two decades, this book combines careful scholarship with Jeff Gundy's frank, sometimes sardonic, often funny, deeply engaged commentary on Mennonite writing and culture.

How does a Mennonite farm girl, whose "closed" Oregon community prescribed a limited role for women and distrusted education, end up a university president? Journey with Snyder as as she explores the surprising and unexpected paths that opened her doors to education and leadership.

Jeff Gundy's 6th book of poetry set in the Midwest amidst family, history, and sense of place. His poems and essays have appeared in Georgia Review, The Sun, Image, Kenyon Review, Christian Century, Mennonite Quarterly Review, Conrad Grebel Review, Nimrod, and many other magazines Other honors and awards include multiple Ohio Arts Council fellowships, two C. Henry Smith Peace Lectureships, Bechtel and Yoder Lectureships, a Nancy Dasher Award, a Society of Midland Authors Poetry Award, and the 2015 Simons Lectures at Bethel (KS) College.