Ramsey, Rebecca S. 1964–

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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."