Book about My Roots

Rhoda Janzen would be a Coffee Janzen. See, in my Mennonite background, when my ancestors lived in Russia (now the Ukraine) in colonies unto themselves, there were two families of Janzens. One family was spelled Jantzen (with the T), so they were the Tea Jantzens. The others, by default, were the Coffee Janzens. A little Mennonite humor for you.

Anyway, I digress before I start. Rhoda Janzen, like me, was born into a Mennonite family and lives outside of it while still feeling connected to it. After her divorce, she decides to stay with her parents for a few months to recover, and her musings during this time came out as Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home.

The parts of the book about Mennonite food, homesewn clothes (and other methods of thrift), uncool lunchboxes and such made me laugh out loud with some kind of recognition (although technically, I am one generation closer to living in the world than Janzen - my parents also live in the world). It also made me hungry for veriniki and cherry moos. I guess I'll just have to read the blog Mennonite Girls Can Cook.