Ramsey, Rebecca S. 1964–

PERSONAL:

Born 1964; daughter of an engineering professor and a preschool teacher; married; husband's name Todd (an engineer); children: three. Education: North Carolina State University, B.A; Clemson University, master's degree.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Greer, SC. Agent—Nathan Bransford, Literary Agent, Curtis Brown Ltd., 1750 Montgomery St., San Francisco, CA 94111. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Educator and writer. Has worked as high school chemistry teacher, antique booth worker, seamstress, summer day-camp director for homeless kids, preschool teacher, and lab worker.

WRITINGS:

French by Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France (memoir), Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

In her first book, French by Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France, Rebecca S. Ramsey tells the story of her family's four-year stay in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Writing on her home page, the author commented on how the book came about: ‘I guess I started French by Heart on the airplane to France, never for a minute thinking it would ever become a book. I just wanted to make permanent the crazy and funny and bizarre things that started happening to us, and since I always loved to write, writing down my stories (and rewriting and rewriting) was a natural way of doing that."

French by Heart has received many favorable reviews. ‘Ramsey gives us the nitty-gritty of real people adjusting to the ways of another land, told with humor, befuddlement, and, ultimately, insight,’ wrote John Grooms on the Creative Loafing Charlotte Web site. New York Times Book Review contributor Pamela Paul noted: ‘In Ramsey's eyes, her provincial counterparts are neither categorically adorable nor absurd, despite their indecipherable mutterings and behavior. Her accounts of their prosaic routines are unexpectedly engrossing. Although she can occasionally be sentimental, the mostly genial Ramsey can also be satisfyingly snippy and droll."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Ramsey, Rebecca S., French by Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2007.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2007, Mark Knoblauch, review of French by Heart, p. 17.

New York Times Book Review, June 3, 2007, Pamela Paul, ‘Travel,’ includes review of French by Heart, p. 14.

Publishers Weekly, January 29, 2007, review of French by Heart, p. 54.

ONLINE

Creative Loafing Charlotte,http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/ (October 10, 2007), John Grooms, ‘Books for Bastille Day."

Expat Women,http://www.expatwomen.com/ (October 10, 2007), ‘Expat Women's Interview with Rebecca."

Rebecca S. Ramsey Home Page,http://www.rebeccasramsey.com (October 10, 2007).

Rebecca S. Ramsey MySpace Profile,http://www.myspace.com/rebeccasramsey (October 10, 2007).