Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home
Apr 2010 · Macmillan + ORM
4.1star
12 reviewsreport
Ebook
256
Pages
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About this ebook
“Hilarious . . . musings on Janzen’s childhood, marriage, and eccentric family. . . . mines Mennonite culture for comic effect, but . . . does so with love.” —Entertainment Weekly
Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. Her brilliant husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, and the same week a car accident left her with serious injuries. What was a gal to do? Rhoda packed her bags and went home. This wasn’t just any home, though. This was a Mennonite home. While Rhoda had long ventured out on her own spiritual path, the conservative community welcomed her back with open arms and offbeat advice. (Rhoda’s good-natured mother suggested she date her first cousin—he owned a tractor, see.) It is in this safe place that Rhoda can come to terms with her failed marriage; her desire, as a young woman, to leave her sheltered world behind; and the choices that both freed and entrapped her.
Tackling faith, love, family, and aging, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is an immensely moving memoir of healing.
“Funny, breezy yet profound, and poetic . . . [Janzen’s] tone reminds me of Garrison Keillor’s.” —Kate Christensen, New York Times Book Review
“Hilarious and touching.” —People
“Women will immediately warm to [Jantzen’s] self-deprecating honesty.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“[A] spirited, fascinating memoir.” —Hannah Sampson, Miami Herald
“In the tradition of David Sedaris. . . . family . . . is the source of the book’s biggest laughs, and its heart.” —Marisa Meltzer, The Daily Beast
“The most delightful memoir I’ve read in ages.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times–bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love
Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. Her brilliant husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, and the same week a car accident left her with serious injuries. What was a gal to do? Rhoda packed her bags and went home. This wasn’t just any home, though. This was a Mennonite home. While Rhoda had long ventured out on her own spiritual path, the conservative community welcomed her back with open arms and offbeat advice. (Rhoda’s good-natured mother suggested she date her first cousin—he owned a tractor, see.) It is in this safe place that Rhoda can come to terms with her failed marriage; her desire, as a young woman, to leave her sheltered world behind; and the choices that both freed and entrapped her.
Tackling faith, love, family, and aging, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is an immensely moving memoir of healing.
“Funny, breezy yet profound, and poetic . . . [Janzen’s] tone reminds me of Garrison Keillor’s.” —Kate Christensen, New York Times Book Review
“Hilarious and touching.” —People
“Women will immediately warm to [Jantzen’s] self-deprecating honesty.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“[A] spirited, fascinating memoir.” —Hannah Sampson, Miami Herald
“In the tradition of David Sedaris. . . . family . . . is the source of the book’s biggest laughs, and its heart.” —Marisa Meltzer, The Daily Beast
“The most delightful memoir I’ve read in ages.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times–bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love
Ratings and reviews
4.1
12 reviews
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September 11, 2010
Having been raised in a strict fundamental Baptist home, I could relate to many situations Rhoda did growing up. Certainly not all bad but in retrospect, did constrain me and I also felt like an outsider in life.
Just love her humor, her ability to look back now and know it wasn't all bad. Maybe some things were not "explained " to her which made us feel weird, and in her case going the opposite direction for 15 years.. I really like she is an academia, and I myself love learning, researching , reading..
Truly she has suffered enough without having to have cancer although she mentions it in her family, early on in her book.
If one has had a similar childhood, makes the book so much more enjoyable. My daughter in law, growing up in PA, has expressed her dislike of the Mennonites in school and town. Looking forward to sending the book to her as she too will laugh , love the German words and know all about the food.
A Google user
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December 16, 2011
I got the idea this was going to be very funny and it wasn't. It was cute here and there but not really funny. I enjoyed it though and polished it off in one evening.
A Google user
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July 14, 2010
I was expecting more whimsy but this was a serious take on how a woman overcomes heartbreak by looking to her past for her future.
About the author
Rhoda Janzen is the author of Babel's Stair, a collection of poems. Her poems have also appeared in Poetry, The Yale Review, The Gettysburg Review, and The Southern Review. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was the University of California Poet Laureate in 1994 and 1997. She teaches English and creative writing at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
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