Rhoda Janzen

When I came across this memoir I had no idea what to expect from it, but in the end this one made it to my list of favorite books of all time. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is the true story of Rhoda Janzen’s ‘mid-life crisis’ and what happens when she returns home to her Mennonite roots.

Though I did in fact learn quite a bit about Mennonite society from Janzen’s accounts, what really got me was the humor that she looks upon all events with. I have to say that I spent most of my show more time reading this book laughing out loud, literally, regardless of the strange looks my mother gave me. This can be attributed mainly to the very matter of fact telling of a visit to Kohl’s with her mother, and her mother’s ability to stop a Seeing Eye dog in its tracks.

Janzen’s memoir takes you through her difficult marriage, to their second divorce, and the struggles she faced in overcoming that final separation. She talks about a serious accident she had and the troubles she faced being seriously injured and living alone in her big, secluded home. Janzen also writes of her conflicting feelings in saying goodbye to her child rearing days. Finally, she writes of her experiences going home, going back to her family and friends who lived in a world much different than her own and the good and the bad times she had with them.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book. I laughed and my eyes got teary with her words. It is honest, funny, and well-written. Absolutely worth every second spent reading it! show less

After her abusive, bipolar husband of fifteen years leaves her for a man named Bob, Rhoda suffers a severe car accident and decides to move back home to recover and piece her life together. What follows is a acquaintance with the oddities of the Mennonite community.

With snarky humor and pointed ribbing, Rhoda walks us through her life as a Mennonite before she decide to go to college and leave her antiquated home town behind. Rhoda examines what benefits a Mennonite upbringing has as well as show more the many handicaps it has added to her life.

I found this book an intimate glimpse into a very closed society and discovered much I could relate to regarding the difficulties of leaving home and the equally difficult proposition of coming back. show less

Janzen's bipolar, extremely emotionally abusive husband leaves her for a man he met on gay.com and, after a health crisis and a bad accident, she goes home to California to stay with her Mennonite family. She's a brilliant, insightful scholar, yet she put up with 15 years of a marriage right out of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf. It's not that she didn't know any better. In fact she describes her friend Eva who has remained in the church: "The very picture of mental health and self-respecting show more balance, Eva would have told Nick in the first month of marriage, "If you can't make some changes in how you manage your illness, I'll be making some changes in how I manage this commitment." But if she hadn't had that disaster of a marriage, she wouldn't have written this hilarious book, and would have deprived us of her enlightenment. A good Mennonite embraces suffering, and we thank her for that. show less

This is a light-hearted, fun book to read. I enjoyed it, it made me laugh... The writing refects the author - a simple background, yet quite academic - so the book is hard to peg. I had to look up words more than once, and they were good words! While I sympathize with her divorce, I was pretty tired of the many (many!) references to "Bob-who-my-husband-met-on-Gay.com." We get it! Sometimes her humor was a little corny, but she's discussing Mennonites (Mennos, to those in the know), so I show more don't know that she had an option. Still, some of her comments made me laugh out loud and go back to re-read them - and they were just as funny the 2nd time around. I think I'd like to a a class from Ms. Janzen - I think it would fun. show less