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BLOOMFIELD, IOWA -- It isn't often that a member of the Amish community chooses to break away from the traditions upon which they were raised.

But Ira Wagler did, and he wrote a book about it.

Wagler moved with his family from Ontario, Canada to the Amish community in Bloomfield, Iowa in 1976. For years, he struggled with the difficult decision of whether or not to leave the community and join the modern world.

Eventually, Wagler made the decision to leave, and did so at the age of 26 in 1986.

In his new book, "Growing up Amish", Wagler reflects on that decision and what it was like to grow up in the Amish community. He calls the book "honest".

But what does the Amish community think?

"They're very wary of it, and I understand that," Wagler said. "I don't think there's anything to fear in the book. It's honest, but I live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania now, and I have Amish friends, and most of my Amish friends that I hang with are very supportive, and my family has been mostly supportive as well."

Wager began his writing career with a blog in 2007. He recounted many of his childhood stories, many of which are included in the book. Through the blog, an agent found him, and he began penning the book in 2010.

Tyndale House published the book in July of this year, and it has since become a New York Times bestseller.