Memoir Review: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhonda Janzen

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhonda Janzen is a book I wanted for such a long time to read, based both on the topic and on friends´ recommendation. 

I am usually interested in stories of people that left the religious fold - although interesting too, but less popular for the edition houses tastes are also those stories of those that decided to become religious. In the last years I had the chance to read a couple of insightful Jewish memoirs labelled ´off the derech´ /´off the path´, my favorite so far being Leah Vincent´s Cut me Loose, both in terms of writing, authenticity and dramatism. And, to be against the fashion, I held a very separate opinion about Unorthodox, which I think it is very overrated, especially in Germany, for non-literary reasons.

Belonging to a different fold, Educated by Tara Westover is another good example of good and insightful writing by someone who left behind a religious community in order to join the most generous community of spirit. 

Rhonda Janzen is the daugher of a Mennonite church leader, part of a big family that followed the Ukrainian branch of this religious group. Compared to the Amish - both groups are Anabaptists and use an old German/Prussian dialect for the everyday communication - they allow more technical devices and - what is most important - they go to college. Janzen´s parents travel often in very far away parts of the world and most of her siblings do have college degree. She, though, she decided a little different path, where religion do have rather a philosophical place than is part of a daily practice. 

Once she turned 43, a flow of events overwhelmed her bookish existence: her 15-year marriage ended with her bipolar husband running away with a guy he met on gay.com called Bob. She went through a serious car accident. Her health was not doing well at all. 

After 25 years, she returns home to her parents to look for inner peace, answers to her life questions and a good borscht - the Mennonites brought something good from Ukraine after all. She never broke up completely with her family and she maintained a good communication with her parents and some of her siblings. An academic, Rhonda Janzen´s path was more against the securities of the religious minds and was more interested in a different kind of daily life. Her life, as it was at that very specific moment, was what she expected? Why did she failed in her personal life ? Why her husband left her for a man named Bob?

Without hate and drama, she is able to connect the dots that she abandoned once she started to make her own path. She is returning in a family that loves her and in a community who is not judging her. On both sides, a respectful curiosity about the other part´s lifestyle and life choices maintains a conversation that from a chapter to another covers food - especially those foods to not give your child to school, dating, depression, infidelities and betrayal. 

She tells her story with so much irony and humour - the old Mennonite lady writing cat detective stories that matched her with her 17 years old younger nephew was delightful - that I could not resist not listening the story until the end hour after hour - I had the audiobook version of the book. In addition to the story, I was delighted to learn a lot about a religious group I had only basic information about. 

This year may have been a complete failure by now in terms of achieving my personal and professional plans, but at least I´ve finished Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. Time to celebrate, no matter what.

Rating: 3.5 stars