Hausfrau Honeymoon: Love, Language, and Other Misadventures in Germany

by Beth M. Howard

***** Awarded FIVE DIAMONDS from the Pulpwood Queens Book Club -- "Beth's book is good -- really, really good. You truly had me from the get-go." *****

By the age of 40, adventure journalist and world traveler, Beth M. Howard, was convinced that no matter what she set her mind to, she could find a way to do it. Nothing, however, had prepared her for moving to Stuttgart, Germany, to marry a German.

After a lust-filled, trans-Atlantic courtship, Howard trades the West Coast for a newlywed life with Marcus, an automotive engineer. With fairy-tale optimism, she’s determined to learn the language, settle into her new home and live happily ever after—in an equal partnership. The Teutonic tongue, she discovers, is about as easy as deciphering DNA code. The Germans have a plethora of rules, she learns by breaking them. And, once she is living in his country, her husband expects her to wash his dishes.

Uh, I don’t think so!

“But you are living your dream!” her sister reminds her. “You can have European adventures, and you can write.”

Howard has adventures all right—from Stuttgart to Munich, Berlin, Paris, Italy and beyond—and she’s written all about them in her lively and witty narrative, “Hausfrau Love, Language, and Other Misadventures in Germany.”

Will the marriage survive the minefield of culture clashes? Will she ever learn that "awful German language?" As Howard strives for the answer, her story will have you laughing, crying and, above all, rooting for a happy ending.

Genres: Germany

342 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2018

About the author

Beth Howard is an author, blogger, and pie baker. She is the author of "World Piece: A Pie Baker's Global Quest for Peace, Love, and Understanding," "Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie" and the cookbook, "Ms. American Pie," as well as "Hausfrau Honeymoon: Love, Language, and Other Misadventures in Germany." She is the former (and final) resident of the iconic American Gothic House in Eldon, Iowa, where from 2010 to 2014 she ran the Pitchfork Pie Stand. Her websites are www.bethmhoward.com and www.theworldneedsmorepie.com.

Reviews

[Camille Maio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a charming memoir that many will be able to relate to - being different, being out of place. Howard's writing is compelling and draws the reader in immediately. I enjoyed the story of her romance, the reality of the struggle of being a stranger in a strange land, and the honesty about the challenges in her marriage. Despite big issues, the writing was light and I can't wait to read it's sequel - Making Piece.

[Barbara]

Beth Howard is a good friend. I love her and love to read about her life. This book is a prequel to the excellent Making Piece. She is one of the most honest writers--and people--I know. All memoirists can take a lesson from Beth's memoirs about how to write honestly. It's so difficult to write this honestly, yet it's how Beth lives her life and why we love her. Her cookbook is excellent, too.

I should mention Beth will be on my radio show, Writers on Writing Weds., Jan 2, 2019, 9 am PT. KUCI-FM 88.9. Show will podcast on iTunes a few days later. Subscribe!

[Barb Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book and the author's writing style. Great story about falling in love and working on relationships. Loved her description of Germany and her trials and troubles there, along with some silver linings. Very fast read, finished this book in two day. Highly recommend!

[Hannah]

As an Iowan living in Germany for over 11 years, the authors insights and observations were cathartic for me. (I have a German husband and small child, and America seems like a mess now.) My career has taken a beating and it seems a layer of my self-esteem will never be intact as I suffer with the language and culture. How can I simultaneously feel the strongest I have ever been? There are layers that occur as one stays to adapt, yet the patterns she outlined seem to repeat over the years.

The book is a quick read as she manages to be concise and fairly comprehensive. Stuttgart is a pretty conservative area of Germany, yet the experiences still translate to other regions. I no longer have PTSD when going to the grocery store.

It felt meaningful to read the words from someone who has been there. I “get” it, Beth! Thank you for helping me feel seen. Perhaps I would visit you on my next visit to Iowa. ☺️

[Carol E. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Beth Howard for a while.. I loved her book "Making Piece" and love her pie cookbook which is interspersed with some really great essays. So I wanted to love this book, too, but I just didn't.

Honestly, I felt that he was working harder at the marriage than she was. It's impossible to judge another couple's marriage, so I hate to say that. Reading this book, though, felt like getting an inside look at what appeared to be her spoiled, whining attitude. She was brave to write it so honestly. But it didn't endear me to her. Perhaps they should have given this marriage a lot more thought before taking the plunge. Obviously, lust was not enough to sustain a marriage. And with the added challenge of cultural differences, they perhaps had too many blows against them from the start.

This book is the prequel to "Making Piece" so I know the outcome, which is not happily ever after as she implies. I recommend "Making Piece" much more highly.

[miteypen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably shouldn’t judge a book by what I had wanted it to be, but then maybe we all do. This was disappointing on several levels.

First, the story itself was superficial. There was very little context or backstory and events that were included were glossed over.

Second, the characters—including the author herself—never really come alive.

Third, the book didn’t deliver what the title promised. The author barely connected with her life in Germany. She didn’t really want to be there and couldn’t wait to leave.

Fourth, her motivations were a mystery. What makes a forty-year-old free spirit give up her nomadic lifestyle to marry a German who lives and works in Germany? Did she have no self-awareness?

And fifth, she doesn’t delve deeply into her emotions. This might have been the story of a fling rather than a marriage for all the emotional investment she put into it.

Perhaps I’m being too harsh, but there didn’t seem to be any point to this book.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw writing that warms the heart

I was first introduced to Beth’s writing when I read Making Piece, her first memoir. That book quickly turned into one of my favorite memoirs, so when she released Hasfrau Honeymoon, I preordered it right away. I devoured this book in two days while holed away at home after Hurricane Michael, while waiting for power to be restored. I love Beth’s honest writing, how she writes so freely of her struggles and emotions. The rawness of her writing is what has made me a lifetime fan. Her words always draw me in and cut deep to my core while warming my heart at the same time.

Hausfrau Honeymoon is a beautiful story of desperately trying to fit into a foreign world while also trying to not lose the pieces of yourself that make you who you are.

[Joan C]

A Delightful Story

I couldn't put this book down; and related to much of it as I was living in the Quad Cities and am now working in Bavaria. Beth's writing is humorous and riveting. I enjoyed every word and hated for it to end. I just finished her subsequent story Making Piece, and am awaiting her recipe book. She is absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend her books.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her memoir Howard describes her struggles to adapt to life in Germany after marrying her German husband Marcus and moving to Stuttgart. At times funny, at times tragic, at times terribly romantic, this is a very honest account of the first two years of her marriage.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a close friend. I’m glad I read it. Howard’s life experiences parallel someone close to me. While I often thought of this person while reading Beth’s misadventures and adjustments to living in Germany I know the story would be written differently for this loved one. Though, Howard’s sassy writing style made for a fun read. I loved her sarcasm and enjoyed hearing her tell about encounters with Germans in her day to day life. Beth’s descriptions of her family members and friends and their support during these first years of marriage enriched the story. But, oh the psychotherapist?! Yikes! And her yoga instructors in Germany! Ha!

This was a fast read and I will read the sequel to this memoir called Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Pie.

[Mary McNamara · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment. The author, a supposed seasoned traveler, goes to Germany totally unprepared and is incredibly upset when people are frustrated with her inability to communicate. She recounts repeatedly situations where her "adult" response to people is to cry followed by an immature display of anger. She describes people in incredibly insulting ways and whines, whines, whines. Ugh. To not be prepared for culture and language barriers when relocating abroad is ridiculous. She needs to keep her supposedly traveled self at home.

[Yi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun, really quick read: but also empathetic, easy to identify with, despite its exotic nature. The author has a background in magazine journalism, and it shows: the book is fast-paced, hard to put down. The people around her in this book are by turns sympathetic and frustrating, but Howard's writing makes it easy to access them all.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining story, and I learned a bit about Germany. I've read so many books about people moving to France and Italy, but this is the first I've seen about Germany. I will look for more books from this author.

[Jennifer Schaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having lived in Germany and visited twice since , it’s spot on. I loved it.I love Germany but this is the best book I’ve read about a Germany . I laughed out loud several times. I really enjoyed Beth’s other books too.

[Beth Howard]

Of course I read this -- like 50 times -- because I wrote it! It's definitely a romp and good armchair travel through Europe and beyond. It's also a love story -- the determination to make a marriage work in spite of the obstacles, least of which is the German culture, something that was hard for me to adapt to. And learning the language?! OMG, German is so frickin' HARD. I hope you like the book -- but it's okay if you don't. I know Germany isn't everyone's cup of tea. Even I would have rather been in France or Italy, but as my first chapter title says, "You can't help who you fall in love with." Let me know what you think. And thanks for reading!