French by Heart: Rebecca Ramsey's Memoir

In July 1999, an American mama named Rebecca Ramsey moved to France with her husband, baby, seven-year-old boy, nine-year-old daughter, and their aging cat. Her family stayed in the Auvergne for four years, and I'm grateful that she later crafted her family's experiences into a humorous and endearing memoir entitled French By Heart (published in 2007). After all, there are plenty of memoirs about expat life in France, but few of them reflect the experience of an American family with young children truly attempting to assimilate into French life over the course of several years.

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From Exchange Student to Mama in France: Looking Back and Ahead

Ten years have passed since I was an exchange student in France; seven years since my husband and I last traveled there. Now I'm planning our first visit to France as a family--an extended trip this summer through autumn. We'll start in Paris as tourists, stay with friends in the countryside, and finish in Lyon as inhabitants while my daughter begins school alongside other young francophones.

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