Cover Image: Love in Any Language

Love in Any Language

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Member Reviews

This book was unfortunately not really very interesting to me. I enjoy learning about other cultures, and thought that a story about a marriage between two young people, one American and one from Peru would be an interesting story filled with much to learn about the two cultures and the creation of a new family in the 1960s when America was not even close to embracing diversity. Instead of diving in to the differences and trying to help readers understand the challenges she and her husband faced, the author often skimmed the surface and did not explore why these difficulties occurred. I also found it a bit annoying how naive the author and her husband were, I know it is an honest retelling, as a memoir should be, but it was just so frustrating! They keep finding themselves in completely avoidable situations like not having any job prospects or moving in to an adult-only apartment while 5 months pregnant or not planning ahead for how to pay back a stipend when fully aware that the conditions of the loan weren’t met. I know we all make mistakes when we are young but for a book that intends to teach how to communicate and understand multiple cultures, I just couldn’t get past the constant miscommunications and misperceptions this couple faced again and again. I feel that more evidence of hindsight or anecdotal pieces about how they worked through these challenges or what they learned would have gone a long way in making the story more endearing. Not quite what I was expecting, but I do appreciate having been giving the opportunity to read and review this book through Netgalley and the publisher!

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In the age of divorces and breaking marriages, this story brings a beautiful perspective of how a couple managed to maintain their relationship and marriage despite facing adversities throughout their lives.

A must-read for people of all ages.

4 stars.

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I love memoirs and biographies. Truth is stranger than fiction and often more complicated than any fiction author could create.
If You don't believe that love is basic animal chemistry then explain how people for centuries have fallen in love with people who don't even speak their language. AND then uproot themselves to live with that love in a country they can't even work in without a great degree of waiting and difficulty.
In, Love in any Language we see the man give up his country to be in America. It is hard to take care of your family without a job and it is hard to work somewhere where you can't speak the language.
This isn't just love. This life, marriage, and aging with someone you never saw yourself with while crossing cultural and ethnic divides.

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This is the story of an American woman who fell in love with a Peruvian man. Upon discovering an unexpected pregnancy, they decide to get married and face life together.

As I write this review, I know the story may seem simple and romantic, but there's a lot of challenges on the way. We follow their journey deciding where they're gonna live, how their families reacted to the news, all the stress adapting to a new place, job hunting, feeling like you're not enough, studying like crazy, making sacrifices and taking care of the kids. Sometimes things can get so overwhelming...

Life is made of choices, and we can never have it all. The author did a great job telling her story and portraying the real people around her. We can see that nobody is perfect, but with love, values, patience and respect we can become strong to face whatever comes in the way.

I love the way she talks about cultures and how we complement each other. People who have the opportunity to spend some time away from their native countries definitely learn new perspectives. Things that didn't seem so important before suddenly get a new meaning.

If nowadays I still think it's a huge challenge to live abroad, I wonder what it was like back in the day, without internet, without facetime, even phone calls weren't so usual... People just waited for letters... I can't even imagine the amount of courage they had.

I'm Brazilian, so I loved all the mentions of my country and Paulo Coelho's quote.
This was a wonderful read and I totally recommend it! Thanks Evelyn for sharing your story.

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* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

* Trigger Warning: alcohol consumption, depression and suicide. Nothing too deep or graphic, but it touches these topics at some point.

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Such a touching and insightful memoir. I was curious of this book when I read the description, mainly because I'm in a cross-cultural marriage myself. I find this book very relatable and the author's voice is genuine. No doubt relationships are hard work, but throw in long distance and differences in culture, it's totally a different scenario altogether. I found similarities from the author's story to mine that's why I gravitated towards this book. Overall, a highly recommend read, a real-life love story and marriage of two different cultures.

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Thank you Evelyn, She Writes Press and Netgally for approving me a digital copy of Love in any Language. The book amazed me and kept me hooked. This memoir is unapologetically amusing, inspirational and thoroughly insightful.

I loved Evelyn and Antonio's imperfect relationship. Despite their differences, their understanding is so strong for each other, it wowed me. I loved the narration. It made me keep going as Evelyn shares her good times mixed with bad times. It says a lot about the author. I felt for her when she was involved in distressing situations. She expresses her concern, doubts and weaves a way (what she had to) to make everything work for her family. It is commendable, truly. I admire her strength as she juggled her consuming schedule and tenaciously followed her passion. Though impulsive, I can say, she is a woman of exceptional talents.

The beginning was a bit hard to follow but It intrigued me. As it progressed, it made the reading coherent and engrossing. Nonetheless, I imagined living vicariously through Evelyn. Hardship, survival and the pressure of living a normal life in the States, are vividly captured. I teared up a little after reading the conclusion. It just lit my face. I will surely recommend this book. No doubt, it's a must read.

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