Paul Stutzman

Paul Stutzman was born in Holmes County, Ohio in an Amish family. His family left the Amish lifestyle soon after Paul was born. They joined a strict Conservative Mennonite Church where Paul was raised to fear God and obey all the rules the church demanded. Paul continued to live among and mingle with his Amish friends and relatives his entire life. He married a Mennonite girl and remained in the Amish community working and raising a family. After Paul lost his wife to cancer, he sensed a tug on his heart-- the call to a challenge, the call to pursue a dream. With a mixture of dread and determination, he left his job, traveled to Georgia, and took his first steps on the 2,176 mile Appalachian Trail. What he learned during the next four and a half months changed his life. After completing his trek, Stutzman wrote "Hiking Through," a book about this life- changing journey. In the summer of 2010, Stutzman again heeded the call for adventure and pedaled his bicycle 5,000 miles across America. He began his ride at the Northwest corner of Washington State and pedaled to Key West, Florida. The people he met touched his life profoundly. Stutzman wrote about these encounters in his book "Biking Across America." A third adventure book, "Stuck in the Weeds," recounts his adventures kayaking the Mississippi River and then hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Stutzman also released a three-novel series. "The Wanderers" follows the story of Johnny, a young Amish boy growing up in a culture he is not sure he wants to embrace. In addition to writing, Stutzman speaks to groups about his hiking and biking experiences and the lessons learned during these adventures. Stutzman resides in Berlin, Ohio.