Westport Author Mary-Lou Weisman to Speak at Mark Twain Library on March 14

Playing House in Provence: How Two Americans Became a Little Bit French

In September 2003, when author Mary-Lou Weisman and her husband, Larry, decided to take a trip to France, they wanted to shed the typical tourist approach and immerse themselves in French culture and life.

That’s when they embarked on the first of four month-long stays in Provence to “become a little bit French” but ended up doing quite a bit more.

In her charming book, Playing House in Provence: How Two Americans Became a Little Bit French, Weisman recounts their experiences—good, bad, funny, and humiliating. On Wednesday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mark Twain Library in Redding, she will read excerpts from the book and discuss how it felt to exit their comfort zones and acclimate to a new country.

Weisman’s tales of excursions to markets, dinner party conversations, trips through the countryside and even just asking for directions are told from the humorous perspective of Americans yearning to be more native than tourist. They wanted to become so French that their American friends at home wouldn’t recognize them when they returned.

Mary-Lou Weisman attended Brandeis University and Bryn Mawr College. She began her career as a journalist and columnist for the New York Times. She has been a contributing commentator on Public Radio International’s “Savvy Traveler” and wrote a feature-length film for Paramount Pictures. She lives with her husband in Westport, CT. Playing House in Provence is her fifth book.

Refreshments will be served. Please register online, at the Library or call 203-938-2545 for information.

The Mark Twain Library is owned by the Mark Twain Library Association.  It was founded in 1908 by Samuel Clemens – Mark Twain himself – one of Redding’s most celebrated residents.  Visit www.marktwainlibrary.org, for more information.