A lovely light read. Perfect for evenings and travel. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much if I hadn't grown up in a small town where Janzens and Weibes and other fabulous Mennonites were my best friends and low German expressions were a daily thing, but I did, and I'm sure it added to my enjoyment of the book. As other reviewers have commented, the Mother is the clearly the hero. Loved her.

If you've got any Mennonite blook in you, you'll get this book. If you don't, reading it will give you several wonderful laughs and a very well written insight into some subsets of Mennonites.

I found Rhoda Janzen's book somewhat rambling and that she capitalized on her Mennonite upbringing only as a background to expound on otherwise quite ordinary life experiences...ie hiring practices in academia, poor life choices, impulsive and poor choice of husband, and so on. An unmemorable memoir, I'm sorry to say.

LBD Rhoda Janzen’s book is her story of a heartbreaking divorce (Gay.com) and how going home to the Mennonite Community where she was raised helped her heal. The heroine in the book for me is her mother, a wise, clear eyed Mother with a capital “M”, who subjected her children to love, shame-based cooking, and boundaries. Although Ms. Janzen strayed from those boundaries as an adult, she never strayed from her mother’s love. Also, inversely proportional to how poorly she picked her husband, she picked her girlfriends. You can see where we’re going with this. The book is funny, insightful, intelligently written, and a little vulgar. Don’t miss the affectionate primer on Mennonite history in the appendix.

I thought this book would be more interesting, funnier, and better written. I was let down and couldnt finish it.

Lost interest after a while...maybe I just wasn't in the right mood

I enjoyed this book and have recommended it to my sister and mother. It is full of humour and some useful insights. Be prepared for some low german phrases.

Very easy read... Cheeky story that had me laugh out loud on the train... I quite enjoyed this book. I found the ending a bit weak, however, it was well worth the time to read it.

Rhoda is hilarious when she describes her childhood, parents, and especially her school lunches. Not funny is the manic-depressive non-Mennonite man she married 6 weeks after meeting him. The book ends with a stiff chapter on the history of Mennonites.

a quick read and well written, and much warmer that Toews on Mennonites