The more I dug, the more interesting it became. All of the ancestors I traced, from my grandparents back, had been Amish. At least as far back as the 1700s. It's a strange thing, having Amish roots yet never having lived in that community. Stranger yet, I started seeing pieces of my own story in these men and women whose lives, while taking place so long ago, led to mine: the women's love for family and community; the men's relationship with the physical landscape of Lancaster and their passion for stories. I began to wonder if, at the end of this journey into history, I might find a key that would unlock a particular part of myself, a part that would otherwise remain hidden.