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| How to Make a French Family by Samantha Vérant |
My review today is for the
newly released How to Make a French Family by Samantha Vérant. This is the
second memoir from Sam about her new life in France, following a rekindled
romance from twenty years ago with Frenchman Jean-Luc. Theirs truly is a real-life
fairytale romance and you can read my review of Sam’s first memoir Seven
Letters From Paris here.
Synopsis
Say bonjour to a whole new way
of life!
Take one French widower, his
two young children, and drop a former city girl from Chicago into a small town
in southwestern France. Shake vigorously... and voilà: a blended
Franco-American family whose lives will all drastically change.
Floating on a cloud of
newlywed bliss, Samantha couldn't wait to move to France to begin her life with
her new husband, Jean-Luc, and his kids. But almost from the moment the plane
touches down, Samantha realizes that there are a lot of things about her new
home―including flea-ridden cats, grumpy teenagers, and language barriers―that
she hadn't counted on.
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| Samantha Vérant |
Struggling to feel at home and
wondering when exactly her French fairy tale is going to start, Samantha isn't
sure if she really has what it takes to make it in la belle France. But when a
second chance at life and love is on the line, giving up isn't an option. How
to Make a French Family is the heart warming and sometimes hilarious story of
the culture clashes and faux pas that, in the end, add up to one happy family.
My review
As soon as their wedding party
in California is over, Sam, Jean-Luc and stepchildren Elvire and Max return
from the States and Sam is thrown into her new readymade family life in France,
and in French. It is not always easy and she experiences moments of insecurity,
loneliness and a loss of confidence that she writes about openly and honestly.
However her love for Jean-Luc, his love and support for her, and her passion
for cooking help her to take the steps needed to regain her happiness. As a forced
stay-at-home-mum (mom) Sam cooks her way into family life with some delicious
French recipes, often with her own unique twist. As any of us who have cooked
for kids will know, some of these go down better than others with her
stepchildren, but they all sounded delicious to me. Luckily for us, many of
these recipes are shared in the book and if you’d like a sneaky peek, Sam says
it’s ok for me to share this link to them here.
In many ways Sam was lucky to
become integrated into real French family life from day one and I was especially
envious to read about their big family Christmas gatherings in Provence. Family aside, Sam
also has to make friends, which is never easy when you are the new girl in
town, but yet another thing she manages to achieve as she boldly struts out to conquer her new life. With the support of Jean-Luc, their extended family and her
friends Sam is able to overcome the upsets and challenges life throws at her
and her strength and determination leap from the pages.
At times this book is sad and shows her vulnerability, but at other times it’s funny and I laughed along, feeling like I was there, in her kitchen, dancing and cooking with her and daughter Elvire. It is a book written from the heart and if you’re a memoir junkie, like I am, you’ll love it.
How to Make a French Family is published by Sourcebooks and available in paperback and ebook format.
You can read my France et Moi interview with Sam here and follow her on her blog here and on Twitter and Facebook.
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