Mother Tongue: A Memoir of Taiwan by Linda PetrucelliMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Warm, witty, and wonderful!
Mother Tongue: A Memoir of Taiwan by Linda Petrucelli is the warm, witty, and wonderful recounting of the author’s time as a missionary in Taiwan in the 1980s. Reverend Linda Petrucelli, a well-spoken, highly educated Iowa pastor, had been seeking a church placement for some time without success when she heard that the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was seeking female ministers. After applying and much waiting, she and her husband, Gary, were accepted, leaving everyone they loved and everything familiar back home in Iowa. They eventually arrived in the small island nation to discover that instead of working with indigenous youths in a remote posting, they were to remain in the city, and rather than learn to speak Mandarin, the official language of the country, they were to tackle the much more difficult Taiwanese, the dialect most of the population grew up speaking at home, but didn’t want to speak in public.
What a fascinating and satisfying story! The author and her artist husband were both in their 30s when they began their first of two tours in Taiwan. She perfectly conveys their sense of being fish out of water from the moment they land in Asia, immersed in a culture so different from their own. Many of their experiences are humorous; however, you can clearly feel their loneliness, confusion, frustration, and a sense of being completely off-balance in their early days. The author’s moments of success, even the smallest incidents, became causes for elation. The author perseveres, though, and finds her purpose, working to help and improve the lives of some of the neediest people. At the same time, she learns more about herself, her faith, and how she wants to live her best life.I thoroughly enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the settings and the people Linda met throughout her time in Taiwan. I loved the connections she made with residents, especially the random encounters that made such a big impression on her and helped her at just the right moments in her journey. While it sounds like a grand adventure, it takes a lot of courage to leave your home like this and venture into complete, 24/7 unknown territory. Well done!
I recommend MOTHER TONGUE to readers of memoirs, travel memoirs, and biographies.View all my reviews
