Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

“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