Mennonite Valley Girl

Carla Funk was born and raised in Vanderhoof, one of the earliest Mennonite settlements in British Columbia. She is the author of the memoir Every Little Scrap and Wonder, which was a finalist for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize. She has also written five books of poetry and is the former poet laureate for the City of Victoria.

“In luminous prose that effortlessly portrays the intimate and familiar pangs of growing up, Funk captivates from the get-go, and the ’80s nostalgia will hit the spot for those who came of age amid skyscraper bangs, acid-washed jeans, and the ubiquity of teen heartthrob Kirk Cameron. These small-town stories are big on charm.”—Publishers Weekly“This book is a gift, one that daughters will feel compelled to give their mothers, and mothers to their daughters. One that women friends will hand to each other. Here, you must read this. Because no matter what our background, we will likely find our young selves walking the pages of this nostalgic and moving memoir.”—Gail Anderson-Dargatz, author of The Cure for Death by Lightning, A Recipe for Bees, and The Almost Wife“The fears, dark imaginings, longings of a teen’s inner life [are] presented with unsparing honesty and humour…. Highly recommended.” —The Vancouver Sun “Utterly authentic. Carla Funk's Vanderhoof recalled my own Mennonite childhood with such clarity that I could taste the Roll Kuchen, feel the polyester, and experience the pinch of growing up in a container that simply did not fit.”—Darcie Friesen Hossack, Commonwealth Writers Prize-shortlisted author of Mennonites Don't Dance“With the fierce, bright heart of a poet, Funk perfectly captures the thrills, pleasures, and disappointments of being a teenage girl keening for life, for far more than her rural hometown can offer her. I’ve never experienced a coming-of-age-memoir that hurled me off my feet and back into the past with such fluidity. Mennonite Valley Girl transported me into a time of first jobs, first crushes, first makeovers, and first doubts in a way that was so visceral, so surprising. This book is completely alive, and with it Funk has created nothing short of magic.”—Ailsa Ross, author of The Girl Who Rode a Shark