About Anna

By Anna Dee Olson

Where did Anna Dee Olson come from?

Jefferson City Missouri in 1968. She was named after a family friend who was also her mother’s Maud (helper/maid) at the time. From a family of ten children, Anna was baby number five. Anna has five sisters; two older and three younger and four brothers; two older and two younger than herself.Her parents were married near Bowling Green, MO in April of 1962. They lived on a small hobby farm and her father ran his own sawmill for an income. The first baby came shortly after the first year of marriage so after that her mother was busy taking care of the child, cooking, cleaning, gardening and canning food, and sewing all the clothes for the family. As the family grew the workload grew.

Anna and her family lived in Missouri for eight years and then in October 1969 they moved to Wisconsin to an 80 acre farm. Anna’s parents did some farming, plus her father operated a sawmill for income. The family moved into a small, typical story-book cottage type house. The house was setting in a valley with a hill to the east and north; the driveway wound over the hills and through the woods to the west, and to the south it was all downhill which was really nice when we wanted to go sledding. There were 3 bedrooms; two upstairs with an open stairway and a master bedroom on the main floor. A fair-sized living room where we had a wood stove as our main heat of the house and the kitchen/dining room was all one room. We had a wood cook stove in the kitchen, which also helped to heat the house. The basement was dark and dingy, but it was a good place to store our canned goods, potatoes, and other vegetables from our garden every year. After four years, Anna’s father wanted to move to Minnesota. So in October of 1973 the family moved to northwestern Minnesota onto a 28 acre hobby farm.

Anna’s father again ran a custom-sawing sawmill for an income. To keep the children busy Anna’s parents raised cucumbers to sell a couple of years and other years they raised strawberries to sell. Anna’s family always had a big garden and lots of food to can and preserve for eating in the winter.In February of 1984 Anna’s family moved back to Wisconsin due to the community becoming very small in Minnesota. Anna’s parents wanted to live in a community where there were more young folks (Amish people not married yet) so Anna and her siblings had more choices for life partners.

Anna’s parents still live in Wisconsin today. After Anna left the Amish culture in 1992, she started college classes in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, but then moved to northwestern Minnesota to finish the first two years of college at Minnesota State Community and Technical College. Anna graduated with a Diploma in Word Processing with a Computer Emphasis in 1995. In 2005 Anna graduated from Minnesota State Community and Technical College for the second time with an Associate Degree in Medical Secretary.

Anna’s main passion for leaving the Amish culture was to attend college. Anna is very proud of that accomplishment. Anna is sharing her story in this book in hopes to be an inspiration for others to change and improve their own life. Anna had many obstacles to overcome to live the happy life filled with love and respect she lives today. Anna is no better than anyone else, so if she can do it you can do it. Anna had a dream for her life. And she did not realize it, but God had a plan for her life too. Because Anna never lost track of her dream of a better way of life, she is now able to live that life. Growing up Amish was not easy; Anna was not allowed to express herself in many ways which prevented her from learning the essential life lessons to survive. As you read this book, pay close attention to how each event affected Anna at the time, how she overcame the event, and what she learned from the experiences. Anna truly believes that each experience; as hard as it may seem at the time; occurred so that she could be a better person today. This was God’s plan for her life and when Anna decided that she did not have to be Amish to find salvation, immediately her life began to change for the better. She just needed to pray for help and guidance. Again if she can do it you can too. Do you want to hear more from Anna?

Visit www.GrowingUpAmish.com and enter your name and email address in the form on the homepage. Come along with Anna and she will share many valuable scenarios’ and tips to better your life. How can shy Amish girl (not knowing anything about the outside world) ever think of leaving the sheltered world behind? How does Anna survive and create a healthy and happy lifestyle full of love and respect that she lives today?Anna is available to inspire your group. She speaks from the heart, is open to share her experiences and always allows the audience to ask questions. She will customize your event accordingly.

Contact Anna Dee via email: anna@GrowingUpAmish.com or call her at 218-639-1705.

What was/is God’s plan for your life?