If you have ever wondered what happened to Rhoda Janzen, the bestselling author of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, this eventful memoir brings you up to date. Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? describes the "weirdness" of her mercifully brief battle with breast cancer, but devotes most of its pages to her new relationships with a huge, intense rocker; the Pentecostal church; and her new stepchild. Elizabeth Gilbert called Janzen's debut as "singular, deadpan, sharp-witted and honest," not a bad description either for this follow-up.
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.)
"A hilarious account of the small details that make a life. . . Readers from all backgrounds will be inspired by Janzen's tale of love and faith told with her trademark wit and honesty."—Booklist
"Janzen is the kind of writer-world-weary yet incredulous; girlfriend-esque and conversational-that draws you along through a story with ease...[Does This Church Make Me Look Fat] would fit naturally on a shelf, say, next to your collection of beat-up Anne Lamott paperbacks. It has that same sort of accessibility to it; that same sort of acceptance."—Charity Vogel, The Buffalo News
"Smart and witty.... Janzen has a remarkable ability to demystify religion through humor and humanity."—Susanne Jaffe, The Columbus Dispatch
"Amazingly light-hearted... [Janzen] is not so much proselytizing for her particular religion as she is pointing toward the value of examining one's own beliefs, whatever they might be, and finding a way to live with them in joy."—Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times
"A delight for fans of [Janzen's] warm, wisecracking style.... Her enthusiasm and spirit and knack for finding humor in the God details make this book a crowd-pleaser."—Hannah Sampson, The Miami Herald
"A joyful trek through one woman's spiritual journey into a new life as a wife, stepmother, and believer"—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? made me laugh out loud, often enough to make my beloved children inquire as to whether I was losing my mind. Too much spiritual writing these days claims that religious practice is about healing or developing the self. But Rhoda Janzen avoids this theme: here she sets out on a path to become more loving, grateful, and helpful to others. This is particularly impressive given that she's writing about a period in her life when she's got a scary, life-threatening illness, and a brand-new family. Bravo, Rhoda-or rather, 'Thank God!'"—Kate Braestrup, author of Here if You Need Me and Beginner's Grace
"Rhoda Janzen is one of the few people I trust to write about faith without using God to clobber me. She writes about the most serious things in the world-life, death, family, love-with such spot-on honesty, spiritual humility, and disarming humor that I would follow her anywhere. The nicest thing I can say about her new book is that it made me want to be a better person. It is that good."—Barbara Brown Taylor, author of An Altar in the World and Leaving Church
"Paul Shaffer, the noted theologian/TV sidekick, once said that if God is the ultimate being, he must have the ultimate sense of humor. To which I add, Rhoda Janzen is not far behind. This is one funny book. Not to mention thought-provoking and touching."—AJ Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically
"Paul Shaffer, the noted theologian/TV sidekick, once said that if God is the ultimate being, he must have the ultimate sense of humor. To which I add, Rhoda Janzen is not far behind. This is one funny book. Not to mention thought-provoking and touching."
"Rhoda Janzen is one of the few people I trust to write about faith without using God to clobber me. She writes about the most serious things in the world-life, death, family, love-with such spot-on honesty, spiritual humility, and disarming humor that I would follow her anywhere. The nicest thing I can say about her new book is that it made me want to be a better person. It is that good."
"Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? made me laugh out loud, often enough to make my beloved children inquire as to whether I was losing my mind. Too much spiritual writing these days claims that religious practice is about healing or developing the self. But Rhoda Janzen avoids this theme: here she sets out on a path to become more loving, grateful, and helpful to others. This is particularly impressive given that she's writing about a period in her life when she's got a scary, life-threatening illness, and a brand-new family. Bravo, Rhoda-or rather, 'Thank God!'"
"A delight for fans of [Janzen's] warm, wisecracking style.... Her enthusiasm and spirit and knack for finding humor in the God details make this book a crowd-pleaser."
"Amazingly light-hearted... [Janzen] is not so much proselytizing for her particular religion as she is pointing toward the value of examining one's own beliefs, whatever they might be, and finding a way to live with them in joy."
"Smart and witty.... Janzen has a remarkable ability to demystify religion through humor and humanity."
"Janzen is the kind of writer-world-weary yet incredulous; girlfriend-esque and conversational-that draws you along through a story with ease...[Does This Church Make Me Look Fat] would fit naturally on a shelf, say, next to your collection of beat-up Anne Lamott paperbacks. It has that same sort of accessibility to it; that same sort of acceptance."
"A hilarious account of the small details that make a life. . . Readers from all backgrounds will be inspired by Janzen's tale of love and faith told with her trademark wit and honesty."
