Lizzy Hershberger

Lizzy's Biography

Lizzie (Lizzy) Hershberger is the author of Behind Blue Curtains, a powerful memoir about growing up in a conservative Amish community and finding the courage to break the silence around abuse. Her story offers readers a deeply personal look at resilience, healing, and the journey of speaking truth after years of silence.

Lizzie is also featured in the PBS documentary “Keep Quiet and Forgive,” airing nationally on PBS Independent Lens. The film follows her journey and highlights the voices of survivors who are working to bring awareness to abuse within closed religious communities while encouraging accountability, understanding, and change.

Through her writing, speaking engagements, and community conversations, Lizzie is passionate about educating others, supporting survivors, and helping create spaces where difficult stories can be heard with compassion. Her work continues to spark important dialogue about faith, healing, and the power of telling one’s story.

Lizzie lives in Minnesota with her family and continues to write, advocate, and share her message of hope and resilience.

Molly’s Biography

Molly Maeve Eagan was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She began her writing career as a crime reporter, and her unique ability to connect with interview subjects turned her into an award-winning investigative journalist. As a sexual assault survivor, she spent years in recovery before dedicating herself to helping other survivors find their voices and tell their stories. Molly is a writer, editor and organizer, advocating for diverse groups of survivors from isolated religious communities to Hollywood casting couches. Discover more at Mollymaeve.com.

Disclaimer from the Author Lizzy Hershberger

In order to protect the innocent people involved in this story, some names and identifying facts have been changed. The depictions of events, as well as verifiable facts, have been recalled and written accurately to the best of the author’s ability. This is not an attempt to get revenge on any individual or the Amish church. It is not the author’s intention to harm or disrespect any of the people depicted in the story or to incite conflict, but rather to educate and inspire change for future generations.

This memoir is based on the true life of Lizzy Hershberger. This book’s descriptions are solely from her own lived experience and do not describe any other person’s story or experiences. Some names, identifying characteristics, dialogue, and further details have been changed, added, or withheld. Any supposed likeness to any other persons, communities, or specific locations is unintentional.

Some traumatic events, emotional responses, and details were too difficult to write about. All memories were reconstructed based on personal diaries, in depth interviews, conversations, letters, news articles, police reports, and court documents.

This memoir does not reflect all events, characters, and incidents. In an effort to be sensitive to readers, some of the more graphic details and other superfluous information were omitted.

It is the author’s hope that each reader will learn something valuable from her story and use it to make a positive difference in someone else’s life.

Ten percent of all book profits will be donated to support and educate people in plain communities.