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Title details for Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen - Available

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

A Memoir of Going Home

by Rhoda Janzen
Hillary Huber
Audiobook
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A hilarious and moving memoir in the spirit of Anne Lamott and Nora Ephron about a woman who returns home to her Mennonite family after a personal crisis.The same week her husband of 15 years ditches her for a guy he met on Gay.com, a partially inebriated teenage driver smacks her VW Beetle head-on. Marriage over, body bruised, life upside-down, Rhoda does what any sensible 43-year-old would do: She goes home.But hers is not just any home. It's a Mennonite home, the scene of her painfully uncool childhood and the bosom of her family: handsome but grouchy Dad, plain but cheerful Mom. Drinking, smoking, and slumber parties are nixed; potlucks, prune soup, and public prayer are embraced. Having long ago left the faith behind, Rhoda is surprised when the conservative community welcomes her back with open arms-and offbeat advice. She discovers that this safe, sheltered world is the perfect place to come to terms with her failed marriage and the choices that both freed and entrapped her.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 13, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781598879087
      • File size: 237741 KB
      • Duration: 08:15:17

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Hillary Huber's narration has a sharp edge that deals effectively with the ironic humor that runs throughout this memoir. Years into her marriage to an abusive, bipolar man, Janzen ultimately loses him--to a man he met on the Internet. She turns to her Mennonite upbringing to help see her through and ends up moving back home with her parents, a move that prompts her to look at the Mennonite religion and culture with fresh eyes. Janzen's husband's defection obviously had a profound effect on her, and Huber recites her frequent references to "Bob" from gay.com almost like a mantra. In other places, Huber's tone aptly depicts Janzen's habit of coping through humor and introspection. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 13, 2009
      At first, the worst week of Janzen's life—she gets into a debilitating car wreck right after her husband leaves her for a guy he met on the Internet and saddles her with a mortgage she can't afford—seems to come out of nowhere, but the disaster's long buildup becomes clearer as she opens herself up. Her 15-year relationship with Nick had always been punctuated by manic outbursts and verbally abusive behavior, so recognizing her co-dependent role in their marriage becomes an important part of Janzen's recovery (even as she tweaks the 12 steps just a bit). The healing is further assisted by her decision to move back in with her Mennonite parents, prompting her to look at her childhood religion with fresh, twinkling eyes. (She provides an appendix for those unfamiliar with Mennonite culture, as well as a list of “shame-based foods” from hot potato salad to borscht.) Janzen is always ready to gently turn the humor back on herself, though, and women will immediately warm to the self-deprecating honesty with which she describes the efforts of friends and family to help her re-establish her emotional well-being.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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