Marian Beaman
Memoir Author & Storyteller
Stories of faith, family, and a life that moved from Plain to Fancy.
Welcome — this is a place my memories find meaning. I spent my first 24 years as a Mennonite girl in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (the Plain), before moving south to Charlotte, North Carolina, and eventually settling in Jacksonville, Florida (the Fancy).
Every other Wednesday I post a new story about faith, nostalgia, and the family ties that bind us together.
Marian’s Memoirs
Mennonite Daughter:
The Story of a Plain Girl
This is where it all starts — a childhood shaped by tradition inside a strict Lancaster County Mennonite community. It’s an inside look at what that world actually felt like: the expectations, the faith, and the quiet work of figuring out who you are underneath the plain dress and the plain rules. Stories with treasured family photos and a family tree shape the memoir.
My Checkered Life:
A Marriage Memoir
Built around a quilt metaphor, this book looks at what fifty-plus years of marriage actually looks like up close — culture clashes, a travel trailer disaster, tight money, and learning how to fight fair. There are old diaries in here, family recipes, restored photos. It’s as much a love story as it is a record of two people figuring out how to build a life together.
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Latest Reflections & Reviews
Illness To Wellness: Cliff’s Story
Two Kingdoms, One Preferred “Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each...
Rising on Wings: Sampling the Haiku Collection
This post explains how poems and images are created in my WIP, Rising on Wings, Uplifting Haiku, a poetry collection to be published late fall 2026.
See and Hear: Weddings in 1950s Pennsylvania
My first memory of a fancy wedding is drawn from the Zion Lutheran Church in Hummelstown, PA, a lovely edifice with stained glass windows, a pipe organ, and a bell tower. I was nine years old when I attended Mary and Howard Landis' wedding there. ...
About Marian Longenecker Beaman
I’m a writer, a former teacher, and a speaker. I love words— and especially the connection they make possible. Whether you’ve been reading for years or just found me today, I’m glad you’re here.
Got a story of your own, or want to set up a book club talk? I’d love to hear from you..