As Janzen relives her marriage to Nick, a charismatic but unpredictable academic, we begin to feel her pain — and then we get angry. In another review published in the June 25 edition of Mennonite World Review, I illustrated the power of a first mover into a field (i.e., Rhoda Janzen into the field of Mennonite memoir). She is the author of Babel's Stair, a collection of poems, and her poems have also appeared in Poetry, The Yale Review, … The field is exploding, and The Wall Street Journal and Time have taken notice, along with bloggers and, of course, book publishers. Janzen tells us that her father was like the “pope” at one time of the “North American Mennonite Conference for Canada and the United States.” If you Google this denominational name, you will find that it does not exist. So glad you left this comment. My daughter introduced me to the first, A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg, and I was hooked. Right and Solves Her Lady Problems. It was bad enough that her husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, but that same week a car accident left her injured. Mary Karr recently said that if the antagonist of your memoir is not you, you have not gone far enough. We are all 1975 graduates of EMC (now EMU of course), and our town of meeting will be Goshen, IN, a place with which you are very familiar! Such readers won’t care if her ethnography is accurate in every detail. Rhoda Janzen, 2011 St. Martin's Press 241 pp. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. Janzen (English and Creating Writing/Hope Coll. Why in the world would Rhoda stay with a man this violent, this harsh and mean-spirited? About the Author: . Sign up for your FREE email about the latest top book club picks, exclusive book giveaways, new releases, and online author events. slow read, difficult to maintain interest in book, Janzen's take on life is inspiring and beautifully positive. We cut through both piety and naivete–our own and others– with boatloads of sarcasm. Janzen earns the right to hilarious descriptions of body parts and functions because her own body is central to her story. That one author alone–Beverly Lewis–has sold more than 13.5 million copies of her chaste love stories? Without a husband, Janzen unconsciously drifts back to the point of origin, finding comfort in the sense of community and strong ethics of the Mennonites, even while she pokes fun at their old-fashioned quirks. Pre-order Does this Church Make Me Look Fat? The title of her new book is hilarious and portends another bestseller. You will blush often. My prediction: over time, the envy and anger will subside and the awe remain. She is the author of Babel's Stair, a collection of poems, and her poems have also appeared in Poetry, The Yale Review, … Membership is free & gives you access to book giveaways, author chats & your private, free book club page. I learned to attend viewings even if I didn’t know, of the living, to look in their eyes and offer. Recommended to book clubs by 14 of 31 members. In one disastrous week, her manic-depressive husband Nick leaves her after 15 years for a guy called Bob and she has a … Here is a fragment from the beginning stanza of his “How to Write the New Mennonite Poem” anthologized by editor and poet Ann Hostetler in a cappella: Mennonite Voices in Poetry: twice, once in the title, along with zwiebach. Self-consciousness is to writers what the sin of pride is to Mennonites. or shoofly pie. In fact, I am going to present some of your ideas to my college friends when we get together next weekend. Like many, I wanted to shake Rhoda for being weak. Here’s a short blurb from USA Today to whet your appetite. She is the author of Babel's Stair, a collection of poems, and her poems have also appeared in Poetry, The Yale Review, The Gettysburg Review, and The Southern Review.She teaches English and creative writing at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. We are also going to try our hand at writing some Six-Word Memoirs. Her husband made her get one, she says, "but he can’t make me like it." It was bad enough that her husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, but that same week a car accident left her injured. Now is that a catchy title or what? It’s also clear that her mother’s healing love made this book possible. Needing a place to rest and pick up the pieces of her life, Rhoda packed her bags, crossed the country, and returned to her quirky Mennonite family's home, where she was welcomed back with open arms and offbeat advice. Like James Frey, who made his addictions stronger and jail time longer in his book than they really were, Janzen sometimes makes her own upbringing sound more sectarian or perhaps more exotic than it may have been. They matter a lot; the genre will only continue to prosper if readers can trust the author. The following spring I read it again after doing extensive research on the web about Rhoda, and discovering your review on your blog. Sleeping in the nude has its disadvantages. Rhoda announces early on in the memoir that her husband left her for a man he met on Gay.com; however, as the book progresses, she slowly reveals that her marriage had been troubled for some time, and that she knew Nick was bisexual before they were married. Really eager to know what you think when you read the book. As an interesting point, I was sitting with “Staci” just a week ago, beside my parents’ swimming pool as our boys swam together. She teaches at Hope College. With regard to Janzen, others have admitted to their own combination of envy, anger, and awe in differing degrees. The most interesting part of the post was in the comment section, which I don’t know how to import. She also has a very handsome husband, Nick, who has just left her for a man named Bob that he met on gay.com. Recommended to book clubs by 14 of 31 members. Welcome to this website and to the beginning of your own memoir journey! ← Derek Halpern and the Perfect Blog Post: A Short Memoir, http://krpooler.com/2012/07/02/truth-memory-memoir/, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/books/review/the-writer-in-the-family.html?pagewanted=all. Rhoda Janzen. . Did you read MIALBD? Rhoda announces early on in the memoir that her husband left her for a man he met on Gay.com; however, as the book progresses, she slowly reveals that her marriage had been troubled for some time, and that she knew Nick was bisexual before they were married. Her sequel memoir Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? The most recent memoir I’ve read was Rhonda Langley’s MIBJ, which my husband downloaded to his I-Pad so I could read it while on vacation two weeks ago. Parts of the book were very funny and enjoyable and other parts were a bit slow. Rhoda announces early on in the memoir that her husband left her for a man he met on Gay.com; however, as the book progresses, she slowly reveals that her marriage had been troubled for some time, and that she knew Nick was bisexual before they were married. BIO BOX: Five things to know about Rhoda Janzen: She’s hip and stylish, but resists cell phones. (Tweet me). She was very hurt by Rhoda’s book, and apparently that clan awaits the new book with much anxiety. I admit that I laughed often about subjects that, in the hands of a less gifted writer, could have been not only unfunny but a total waste of time. The problem of being a Mennonite writer is that you cannot be one completely un-self-consciously anymore, and too much self-consciousness has ruined many a writer. Do you feel that the author regrets her upbringing? Really insightful, I thought. She is the author of Babel's Stair , Rhoda Janzen is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Mennonite in a Little Black Dress and … If you didn’t see it then, you might enjoy now. I read MIALBD two years ago, found myself laughing most of the time, and recommended it to my sister and daughter, who then recommended it to her boyfriend’s Catholic mother, who downloaded it immediately to her Kindle. And to do that, I have enlisted your help from your website. She is the author of Babel's Stair , Rhoda Janzen is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Mennonite in a Little Black Dress and the poetry collection Babel’s Stair . Sisters-in-law Staci and Deena come across as vastly inferior in sensitivity and taste than Rhoda and her sister Hannah. Rhoda Janzen is the author of the poetry collection Babel's Stair (Word Press, 2006) and the memoir Mennonite in a Little Black Dress (Henry Holt and Company, 2009). As much as I laughed while reading the book and as much as I celebrate the word “Mennonite conjoined” with “funny” in other reviews of this book, I cringed while reading more than once. Q&A with writer Rhoda Janzen Rhoda Janzen: Rhoda Janzen is the author of two memoirs, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress and Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?, and a poetry collection, Babel's Stair. There you have it–the plot gets no thicker. Too busy today. I’ve asked for a review copy and plan to give you my thoughts on the book soon. 468 likes. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress [Rhoda Janzen] on Amazon.com. The subtitle comes back to remind the reader of her first book: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Rhoda Janzen was 43 and had been married for 15 years when, after recovering from a serious illness -- during which her usually grouchy husband Nick … Rhoda Janzen is the author of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home, as well as 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. Hello Select your address Best Sellers Gift Ideas New Releases Deals Store Electronics Customer Service Home Books Coupons Computers Gift Cards Sell Subscribe & save Registry 1,586 Followers, 1,062 Following, 91 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from һan (@hannah_janzen) If that is “TMI”–too much information–for you, gentle reader, beware of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. One wonders what future Thanksgiving dinners will be like in the Janzen household. I’m in England writing on an iPhone. the blessing of your voice, your chaste touch. I had to choke back gargantuan guffaws in order not to wake my Mennonite husband. About a year later, Janzen hears from Nick, her husband of 15 years, that he has met a man named Bob on gay.com and wants a divorce. Rhoda Janzen is the first lady and hottest chick, of Mennonite memoir. Like the casual browsers in the bookstore who see an Amish image on the cover, most readers will never know, or care, that Janzen’s branch of the Mennonite family is called Mennonite Brethren, a smaller denomination than the Mennonite Church-USA. Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. Did you know that Amish “bonnet rippers”–romance novels–are among the best selling books in America right now? 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 … We love her for her healing and for her freedom. The Hope College Department of English dives into literature of every kind and teaches students to improve the craft of their writing to foster a love of the written word. Here’s a link if you want to Pre-order Does this Church Make Me Look Fat? Why? Thanks for appearing here in the comments, Rhonda. But what is the responsibility for accuracy, especially since people buy memoirs because they want the real thing, true stories? Her poems have also appeared in Poetry, The Yale Review, The Gettysburg Review , and The Southern Review . Not a member? She has her Ph.D, her Prada and her lake house. . Luckily, her husband of 15 years, Nick, was a capable nurse and, six weeks later, her health issues and emotional upheaval had come to an end—or so she thought. ... My husband, a former hoodlum, doesn’t read much. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. "It is rare that I literally laugh out loud while I'm reading, but Janzen's voice?singular, deadpan, sharp-witted and honest?slayed me." I hope the next book will relieve some of the anxiety in the Janzen family, as the focus switches away from California. And in the summer when red beets were available at our local farmers’ market, I even tried out Rhoda’s borscht recipe with delicious results! Janzen tries to preempt criticism of such fine points by making fun of factual accuracy in her savagely funny Mennonite History Primer appendix. Members, please login. Tits, that is. How would you define a "good" relationship? In the meantime, I decided to repost my review of her first memoir that now has sold 500,000 copies, making Rhoda Janzen the first author, I presume, to put the word “Mennonite” on The New York Times Bestseller list. I can’t write much tonight. Rhoda Janzen has it all. Rhoda Janzen holds a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was the University of California Poet Laureate in 1994 and 1997. The issues involved, however, will continue to be discussed, not just in relation to MIALBD, but in other books where family pain and debate about the truth arises. Thank you, Shirley, for helping me on this road to writing. ; poems: Babel’s Stair, 2006) excavates her past with the might of a backhoe and the finesse of an archaeologist’s brush. Written with wry humor and huge personality?and tackling faith, love, family, and aging?Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is an immensely moving memoir of healing, certain to touch anyone who has ever had to look homeward in order to move ahead. No longer Die Stille im Lande (the silent in the land), Mennonites now have the responsibilities of telling their many stories as honestly as possible. Soon after Janzen’s first book was published, I posted the review below. Before that, David Sedaris, Michael Perry, and sections of Barbara Kingsolver’s Pigs in Heaven also left me shaking soundlessly. AbeBooks.com: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home (9780805089257) by Janzen, Rhoda and a great selection of similar New, Used and Collectible Books available now at great prices. How much do these two issues of compassion and integrity matter in memoir? She’s had two great ones. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home by Rhoda Janzen (2011-01-01) at Amazon.com. Though I understood loss even then book DOES this CHURCH MAKE me LOOK is! Holds a PhD from the University of … Rhoda Janzen ] on.. Deals a lot with relationships - family relationships, spousal relationships them up or.!, especially Mennonite writers, owe Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down more secular how commerce... Heroine is a mid-life memoir, not a college student at that point too. On life is inspiring and beautifully positive my Mennonite husband and portends another bestseller apparently that awaits... For revenge? ) I comment bio BOX: Five things to know what you think when you read book. The genre will only continue to prosper if readers can trust the author #... 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