Breaking Amish

Breaking Amish features the expected fish-out-of-water experiences that Amish and Mennonites often have when navigating the secular world, ranging from trying to find a job with a limited education to facing the temptation to drink and engage in sexual activity. Because their departure is not part of a rumspringa (a church-approved time when youth are free to leave their homes before fully committing to their faith), much of the focus is also on how they cope with the fact that they are no longer able to go home to the life and people they left behind.  

Breaking Amish succeeds in underscoring how these folks struggle with the sense of guilt and confusion they feel for wanting to break away from the subculture they grew up in, but the show's dramatic reality style makes the cast's disapproving family and friends appear simply unreasonable or narrow-minded, without fully putting their reactions into a cultural and religious context. Some of the cast's desire to fully enjoy the freedoms of their new lifestyle lead them to make some questionable choices, too. The series is interesting, but it might leave you feeling conflicted about the various events that are featured here.