Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?

Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?
by Rhonda Janzen
Rating: 3 of 5 stars

My Review:
I had such high hopes for this book. When I saw that Ms. Janzen was writing another book, I put it onto my wish list as soon as it was listed on Amazon. I really enjoyed Mennonite In A Little Black Dress. Even for the high Kindle book price, I decided to splurge on this book. I didn't realize when I bought it that it was Ms. Janzen's journey back to religion.

I started reading and from the first bit I got the impression the book was about her journey through cancer. There were lots of tangents, but as you get further through the book the story about cancer sort-of drops out and it's only about religion. Specifically, her experience meeting and marrying a Pentecostal and her conversion too.

It felt like there were so many loose ends in the book. I liked her writing style and stories but at the end of each story, she'd switch over to talk about something else and I was left wondering if there was a conclusion.

I don't know that I'd say the book was actually preachy, but there was a lot of Bible talk. It felt like lots of time was taken explaining the point of things like tithing or spiritual gifts but the language used was for someone who already agrees with the underlying narrative that God's Authority is right because it's God.

I was disturbed by how easily Ms. Janzen was able to push aside issues (that she says she feels very strongly about) such as lack of female leadership in churches. I also felt let down about her monologue on the joys of a "Christian Marriage". It really felt like she was saying marriages fall apart because the people in them are not Christian enough to "seek God in their marriage" - like it's just random chance if non-Christian people have a good marriage because the only truly great ones are Christian marriages.

Overall, I was left feeling rather down after reading this book. From her perspective, I'm sure this is a happy story but from my perspective it was a story of an independent woman who got a cancer diagnosis then turned into a woman who set aside everything she believed in to throw herself into her boyfriend/husband's church and all the beliefs it entailed.

Let me be clear that I'm not saying this impression is what her life is now, it's just what I was left feeling after reading this book. I'll keep an eye on this author because I do like her writing style and I enjoy her stories. I'll probably even read Mennonite In A Little Black Dress again sometime. But I don't think I'll pick up this book again.