A hilarious and moving memoir—in the spirit of Anne Lamott and Nora Ephron—about a woman who returns home to her close-knit Mennonite family after a personal crisis
Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. It was bad enough that her brilliant husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, but that 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.
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.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home

Biographies & Memoirs

Janzen, Rhoda

Community & Culture

Henry Holt and Co.

"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." ―Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. 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. 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. (Rhoda's good-natured mother suggested she get over her heartbreak by dating her first cousin―he owned a tractor, see.) 
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.

History

St. Martin's: Griffin

ATLANTIC BOOKS *

Squeeze the Sponge uses Rhoda Janzen’s powerful, hilarious, and emotionally generous voice as a bestselling memoirist and award-winning professor to offer undergraduate students an inspirational writing guide. This indispensable textbook is replete with hands-on activities, seventy pages of grammar instruction, and memorable tips, examples, and analogies to help students refine their writing—in other words, “squeeze the sponge.” In Squeeze the Sponge, Janzen achieves something new: a textbook so lively and humorous that students will actually want to read it.

Squeeze the Sponge: A No-Yawn Guide to College Writing

Reference

Words, Language & Grammar

Flip Learning

At the end of her bestselling memoir Mennonite in a Little Black Dress,Rhoda Janzen had reconnected with her family roots, though her future felt uncertain. When this overeducated professor starts dating the most unlikely of men-a weight-liftin', church-goin', truck-drivin' rocker named Mitch-she begins a surprising journey to faith and love. Nothing says, "Let's get to know each other!" like lady problems on an epic scale, but Mitch vows to stay by her side. Convinced that his bedrock character has something to do with his Pentecostal church, Rhoda suits up for a brave new world of sparkler pom-poms and hand-clappin' hallelujahs. Written with her trademark "uproarious, bawdy sense of humor" (Minneapolis Star-Tribune), MENNONITE MEETS MR. RIGHT is witty and moving, perfect for anyone who has taken an unexpected detour only to find that new roads lead to rich destinations.

Mennonite Meets Mr. Right: A Memoir of Faith, Hope, and Love

Grand Central Publishing

What does it mean to give church a try when you haven't really tried since you were twelve? At the end of her bestselling memoir Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Rhoda Janzen had reconnected with her family and her roots, though her future felt uncertain. But when she starts dating a churchgoer, this skeptic begins a surprising journey to faith and love. Rhoda doesn't slide back into the dignified simplicity of the Mennonite church. Instead she finds herself hanging with the Pentecostals, who really know how to get down with sparkler pom-poms. Amid the hand waving and hallelujahs Rhoda finds a faith richly practical for life--just in time for some impressive lady problems, an unexpected romance, and a quirky new family. Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? is for people who have a problem with organized religion, but can't quite dismiss the notion of God, and for those who secretly sing hymns in their cars, but prefer a nice mimosa brunch to church. This is the story of what it means to find joy in love, comfort in prayer, and--incredibly, surprisingly--faith in a big-hearted God.

Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right, and Solves Her Lady Problems

What does it mean to give church a try when you haven't really tried since you were twelve? At the end of her bestselling memoir Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Rhoda Janzen had reconnected with her family and her roots, though her future felt uncertain. But when she starts dating a churchgoer, this skeptic begins a surprising journey to faith and love. Rhoda doesn't slide back into the dignified simplicity of the Mennonite church. Instead she finds herself hanging with the Pentecostals, who really know how to get down with sparkler pom-poms. Amid the hand waving and hallelujahs Rhoda finds a faith richly practical for life--just in time for some impressive lady problems, an unexpected romance, and a quirky new family. Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? is for people who have a problem with organized religion, but can't quite dismiss the notion of God, and for those who secretly sing hymns in their cars, but prefer a nice mimosa brunch to church. This is the story of what it means to find joy in love, comfort in prayer, and--incredibly, surprisingly--faith in a big-hearted God.

Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?

Shortly after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, and a car accident left her with serious injuries. What was a gal to do?
Rhoda packed her bags and went home to her Mennonite family, who welcomed her back with open arms and offbeat advice. 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.

Arts & Literature

Center Point Pub

At the end of her bestselling memoir Mennonite in a Little Black Dress,Rhoda Janzen had reconnected with her family roots, though her future felt uncertain. When this overeducated professor starts dating the most unlikely of men-a weight-liftin', church-goin', truck-drivin' rocker named Mitch-she begins a surprising journey to faith and love. Nothing says, "Let's get to know each other!" like lady problems on an epic scale, but Mitch vows to stay by her side. Convinced that his bedrock character has something to do with his Pentecostal church, Rhoda suits up for a brave new world of sparkler pom-poms and hand-clappin' hallelujahs. Written with her trademark "uproarious, bawdy sense of humor" (Minneapolis Star-Tribune), MENNONITE MEETS MR. RIGHT is witty and moving, perfect for anyone who has taken an unexpected detour only to find that new roads lead to rich destinations.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Janzen, Rhoda. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Janzen, Rhoda

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Janzen, Rhoda. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home

Squeeze the Sponge: A No-Yawn Guide to College Writing

Mennonite Meets Mr. Right: A Memoir of Faith, Hope, and Love

Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right, and Solves Her Lady Problems

Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right, and Solves Her Lady Problems

Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right, and Solves Her Lady Problems

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home

Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right, and Solves Her Lady Problems