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

Following up on the success of her previous memoir (Mennonite in a Little Black Dress), Janzen tackles her next set of difficult and joyful experiences with humor and gratitude. Once again single, the book begins with Janzen questioning her intellect after she develops an unlikely crush: “So when I found myself falling for a Jesus-nail-necklace wearing manly man, the kind whose hands were so huge they ripped his jeans pockets, I thought my common sense was all a-pother.” Janzen’s new love, a devoted Pentecostal, rekindles her lackluster feeling about religion and she delights in comparing her Mennonite faith to the brash style of Pentecostals. She also has to contend with a cancer diagnosis, her relationship with her new partner’s family, and arguments about premarital abstinence. With her usual sense of candidness and jest, Janzen worries about integrating a religious transformation into your social life: “How do you tell your Ph.D. friends, far-flung across the world at their various academic postings, that you are attending church on purpose?” She weaves her reevaluation of her belief system throughout the memoir. This is a joyful trek through one woman’s spiritual journey into a new life as a wife, stepmother, and believer. (Oct.)