My wonderful client Rebecca Ramsey’s debut memoir is coming out today! FRENCH BY HEART, published by Broadway Books, tells the heartwarming and seriously-hilarious story of her Southern family’s four year stay in France. Rebecca’s husband Todd was transferred to France for work, and so they packed up their three kids and the cat and headed off to the land of pain au chocolat. Rebecca chronicles the struggle of culture shock and learning the new language, but she also falls in love with France and its charms, and even the cat gets a bounce in her step with a new diet of pate. And the heart of the story is Madame Millet, the Ramseys’ finger-wagging neighbor, part nemisis and part dear friend, who tsks as the Ramsey children walk around barefoot (she calls them “sauvages”), but whom the Ramseys grow to love.
But, as Lavar Burton says, you don’t have to take my word for it: Publisher’s Weekly calls FRENCH BY HEART “charming” and “endearing” (and I didn’t just cherry-pick the good parts!).
What drew me as an agent to Rebecca’s writing is her natural storytelling ability — she has an incredible talent for making characters leap off the page with just a quote or a description. The result of this is that you really connect with her family immediately and feel emotionally invested in everything that happens to them, and in the end you just want to stand up and cheer. If you’re hoping to gain some insight into how a great writer captures characters (especially when you’re talking about real people here), and then uses that connection to craft a great narrative, Rebecca is as good as anyone.
Enjoy!
OK, for just a second, I thought you were saying it got a Lavar Burton blurb.
J’aime des livres concernant la France.
I’m buying my copy today!
Sounds like a fun book…could make a great Mother’s Day gift:)
Great idea, Liz.
A Reading Rainbow reference! All right! Sounds like the sort of book my wife would be particularly interested in; I’ll be sure to let her know about it.
Chris
Sounds Fantastic! It actually sounds like a similar experience that my mom had when we were transferred to Belgium. Quite a lot of funny anecdotes there.
That’s similar to the year my family spent in Spain while I was a teenager. The culture shock was even greater, since it was during the declining years of Franco’s regime. In fact, I’m in the middle of a novel about it right now.